Tales of Soleanna
by NetRaptor
Summary: A series of interconnected short stories detailing Robo Knux's new assignment as Princess Elise's bodyguard, Sonic and Sally's ill-timed honeymoon in Soleanna, Silver and Blaze's arrival in the future, and Shadow's encounters with Mephiles. A Sonic 360 adapt.
1. Chapter 1: Unsung

Tales of Soleanna

By K. M. Carroll

Story 1: Unsung

* * *

Robo Knuckles awakened in prison.

He lay on his back with the roof four inches from the end of his nose, illuminated by the glow from his green eyes. It was too small to move his arms or legs.

"I'm inside a box," he thought.. He struggled, but his arms were bound to his sides by steel bands. "Oh, wonderful," he growled aloud.

He consulted his log files. The last thing he had done was shut himself down in the laboratory where he was receiving upgrades. Supposedly it had been an upgrade to his facial structure. Robo Knux checked his hardware. No upgrade had been installed.

Those crummy scientists had waited until he was offline, then crated him up and shipped him off. He swore to hunt them down and murder them all in their beds. No, when they were at work in their lab, so he could see their terrified faces. No, in a public place, so other people could see their terrified faces.

As Robo Knux fumed, he noticed a new item in his logs. An upgrade had been installed after all. He hunted it down in his system and examined it. Then he raged at it.

A restraining shell.

Robo Knuckles had never operated under a restraining shell before. He knew that Metal Sonic had carried one, and it kept him loyal to Robotnik until Metal Sonic managed to destroy it.

It weighed on Robo Knux's personality like a lead seal. It forced him into certain behavior patterns, such as not killing anyone unless instructed by someone in authority.

Authority? Robo Knux hated taking orders! He frothed and roared inwardly, and beat his consciousness against the restraints. It wasn't fair! They had no right to do this to him! Not him, the mighty Robo Knux!

They'd sold Robo Knux into slavery to whoever registered themselves as Master to the restraining shell. It'd force him to obey, no matter how hard he resisted. No wonder Metal Sonic had reworked his entire body until he achieved a semi-organic state. It was too simple to control a robot.

Robo Knux hammered the shell with every program he possessed, but nothing penetrated it. Slowly his fury calmed into resignation. He activated his area scanner. He might as well find out where he was.

His scans revealed that he lay in a coffin-shaped box among stacks of other boxes. Hundreds of boxes, many of them large wooden shipping crates. He expanded his scan until it outlined the bow of a shipping freighter. A ship. On the ocean. Delightful.

Robo Knux queried for local network connections, located a port, hacked in, and bounced his signal through a satellite. He was hundreds of miles out on the Ausif ocean, traveling east along a shipping lane that curved up to Central Mobius and arched through several island chains all the way to East Mobius. He might be bound for any one of those places.

Either way, he was in for a long trip.

* * *

Day after day passed, and Robo Knux lay in his box, immobile and hopelessly bored. He scanned the entire ship and profiled everyone aboard, just in case he received the opportunity to kill some of them. The network connection was unreliable, and he lost contact with it often.

But finally they docked in a port in Central Mobius. Robo Knux watched hopefully with his scanner while dockhands descended into the cargo bay and hauled out mountains of crates. His hopes dwindled as he realized that they were cleaning out the opposite bulkhead. He was being shipped elsewhere.

It occurred to him to hack the ship's computer and reroute his own shipping instructions so that he would be unloaded here. He immediately attempted it, but discovered that he had no idea what his shipping number was. By the time he had finished combing through the shipping database and sorted out the likely items, the ship was churning its way out to sea.

Robo Knux lay in his box for an entire month, fuming, fighting his restraints, and hoping for someone to unload him at every port. Once he was moved from one side of the cargo bay to the other, and was bitterly disappointed when he was buried in more boxes.

After a month of travel, the ship docked in port at Soleanna, a city-state in East Mobius. Robo Knux's crate was loaded on a forklift and hauled out onto the docks. He shivered with anticipation as his crate was loaded onto a truck.

Robo Knux scanned his surroundings as the truck drove through town. He'd only seen East Mobius briefly, and had never visited Soleanna. It had a dense population, tall buildings, and lots of canals. The entire place seemed built on water. What kept it all from sinking?

The truck pulled up to the back of a large building. Robo Knux's scans indicated tons of stonework, and many people inside. But to see what it looked like, he needed to use his brand-new visual sensors, courtesy of those conniving scientists. He blinked his new steel eyelids. They worked extremely well and looked stylish, too.

Robo Knux waited while the workers (all humans, how peculiar) loaded his crate on a dolly and wheeled him up a ramp and indoors. The ambient noise changed to muffled voices in the distance, echoing footfalls, and the hum of electronics.

Robo Knux followed along with his scanners. They walked down a hallway, turned right once and left twice, and arrived at an elevator. His box was wheeled inside, and they traveled upwards for several minutes. They hauled Robo Knux out of the elevator and into a nearby room. They thumped his box to the floor and left him.

Voices approached. Three humans, two male and one female. "Your bodyguard has arrived, Highness."

"Yes," said a female voice. "I do hope it isn't too unsightly. It must accompany me to the rehearsals."

Wood splintered as the two men pried off the lid. Robo Knux blinked in the daylight as they peeled back the lid. "Oh," said one of the men. "It's already activated."

Robo Knux's eyes flicked to the female. He was her property, eh? She was tall and pale, with wispy red hair and mournful eyes. She gazed at him thoughtfully, moving up to look into the box. "A mobian robot?" she said, tapping her lower lip with a finger. "I hadn't counted on this. Hello, robot. Can you understand me?"

Robo Knux could not speak unless spoken to. The restraining shell sat on him like a straitjacket. "Yes, I understand you," he said. But he could not say anything else, which was fortunate, because he would have added, "Now release me before I kill everyone in this room."

One of the men produced screwdriver from his belt and set to work unscrewing the band restraining Robo Knux's arms. The girl scrutinized Robo Knux. "How long have you been active? Is your power core drained?"

"I have been active for many years," said Robo Knux, testing the boundaries of the shell. "Although if you mean how long was I activated while in this box, I've been awake in here for a month. And my power core is just fine, thank you."

As long as he kept talking, the shell did not interrupt him. Interesting.

The mechanic pulled off the metal bands and motioned to Robo Knux to get up. Robo Knux obeyed, thankful to finally be able to move. He climbed out of the box and saluted the girl. She watched him in amazement. "It moves so smoothly! Almost like it's not a robot at all."

Robo Knux looked at her, but could not speak the retort that leaped to mind. She gave him a faint smile and said, "Well then. I am Princess Elise. Do you have a name?"

"I am Mecha-bot Four," he replied, "but my friends call me Robo Knux."

"Robo Knux," said Elise with another faint smile. "All right then. Follow me. I'll show you around the palace."

Robo Knux obeyed. He had already traced her with a 3-D scan and registered her in his databanks. And he already had a terrific crush on her.

* * *

Robo Knux trailed behind Elise through the Soleanna Palace, admiring his surroundings in an abstract, survivalist sort of way.

That plush red carpet would smoke heavily if he set it afire. The furniture was pleasant, but there was too much of it. He'd have to activate his jets indoors if he wanted to travel quickly through the palace, and the furniture would have to fall where it may.

They passed through a sunlit indoor atrium with a fountain playing in the center. Robo Knux glanced at the trees and potted plants. What a strange thing to keep indoors. Too much water. He'd have to shut off the fountain.

Elise spoke, and he had to attend to her. Her voice was pleasant and soft. "This was my favorite room when I was younger. I used to bring my schoolbooks here and work by the fountain."

Robo Knux heaved an inner sigh. No tinkering with the fountain, then. If only she'd talk to him some more in that musical voice. If his plans of razing the palace came to fruition, he would not touch Elise's favorite rooms.

As Elise led him from place to place, she neither smiled nor frowned. She wore a small, neutral half-smile on her face at all times, and her voice did not rise or fall much, either. Maybe she was an android.

She led him down a flight of stairs and to a door with a note on it saying, "Do Not Enter". She touched Robo Knux's head lightly with her fingertips. He quivered.

"This was where my father's laboratory was. It was cleaned out after his death, but there is still excessive chaos radiation. It's off limits."

"Chaos radiation?" Robo Knux was allowed to say. "Was he working with Chaos Emeralds?"

A shadow passed over Elise's face. Her half-smile faltered, and her eyes took on a faraway look, seeing deep into dark memories. "No," she said, turning and walking on. "With the Flames of Dis ... the Flame of Hope."

Flames of Disaster? Robo Knux cross-referenced the phrase in his databanks, but found no matches. Then he looked up Flame of Hope, and discovered a vast entry on Soleanna's religion. He studied it as they walked, keeping a few cycles of processing available to listen for Elise.

"The Festival of the Sun is in two weeks," said Elise. "It is a beautiful celebration with fireworks and music."

"Fireworks?" said Robo Knux. Fireworks meant gunpowder. Explosions. Carnage.

"Yes," said Elise. "As the Princess, it's my task to light the Soleanna Torch, which signifies the start of the celebration."

Robo Knux called up images of past celebrations, and examined the torch. Its position varied every year, but lighting it always involved flames following intricate channels of liquid fuel up to a vast brazier heaped with seasoned charcoal.

Imagine what might happen if someone tipped the burning brazier off onto the crowd. The restraining shell repressed his giggle.

Elise opened a door and stepped into a spacious room with ten foot windows open to the south. Robo Knux's feet sank into the red plush carpet. Mirrors lined the other three walls. He glared at his reflection. A cherry red echidna robot, three feet tall, with arms paneled like airplane wings, and foot-long claws on his hands. With diamond tips. For cutting through cars, doors, and blue hedgehogs.

A tall, thin man with a mustache like a black pencil swooped toward Elise. "Princess! There you are. I'm ready to fit you for your festival gown." He paused and regarded Robo Knux, nose wrinkled. "What is this?"

"This is my bodyguard for the festival, Mr. Weaving," said Elise with her customary small smile. "His name is Robo Knux. He's quite docile."

The word burned Robo Knux. Docile! He'd show them docile, if he could break this restraining shell!

Mr. Weaving tilted his head to one side and his eyes narrowed. "Very well, then. Robo Knux, please stand against the wall there. No harm shall come to the princess."

Robo Knux took two sideways steps and placed himself against the nearest mirrored wall. He folded his arms across his chest, overlapping his wing panels like a shield. Elise stepped up on a stool, and Mr. Weaving pinned swaths of white fabric around her waist and shoulders.

Minutes became hours. If only somebody would to toss a grenade through the window to liven things up. But nothing happened. Robo Knux watched birds fly by outside. A plane traced a white contrail across the blue sky. Elise's dress slowly took shape. How could Elise stand there for so long without getting tired? His android theory held more water all the time.

At last Mr. Weaving whisked the dress off Elise. "You may go now, Princess. I'll have this finished by the Festival."

"Thank you, sir," said Elise. She curled a finger at Robo Knux and walked out of the room with slow, stately strides.

But as soon as they entered the hallway and the door closed behind them, Elise leaned an elbow on Robo Knux's head. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so tired."

So much for the android theory. Robo Knux reached up and supported her arm. "Where're your chambers? I'll help you there."

"Thank you," she said faintly. "It's on this floor, but at the other end of the castle."

Robo Knux helped Elise along. He hoped she'd faint and he'd get to carry her. Even leaning on him, she weighed precisely nothing. But Elise retained her dignity, and walked all the way to her rooms, a distance of nearly one thousand feet.

She pushed her door open, hurried inside, and crawled up on a vast four-posted bed with a bubblegum pink bedspread. She flopped on it and closed her eyes.

Robo Knux looked around and wondered if he ought to stay. Pink curtains framed a pink-cushioned window seat. A pink and white dressing table stood in the corner. A pink and white wardrobe dominated one whole wall.

Maybe he ought to rethink this crush. Women were more alien than he'd thought.

"Shall I wait here, Princess?" said Robo Knux.

"No," said Elise faintly. "Just stand outside. I only need to rest."

What a relief. Robo Knux stepped outside and shut the door. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down everyone who walked by.

* * *

The days passed. Robo Knux adjusted to the restraining shell as well as he could. It was so boring without the occasional random death, though.

He accompanied Elise to her protocol lessons, to Festival rehearsals (which took place in front of an impromptu crowd, which took pictures and waved the whole time). He stood at her elbow at dinner and passed plates like a waiter, careful not to scrape his claws through the sauce.

Robo Knux studied Elise. How could she stay so reserved? She never laughed, even with her silly female servants. She only smiled that vague little smile. Nothing upset her, and nothing pleased her. Often he saw her sit back, close her eyes and tilt her face toward the sun. Many people in Soleanna did this in prayer to the sun god. But Elise did it all the time. Maybe that was her secret.

Once, while standing outdoors, Robo Knux decided to try it. He looked up at the sun. "Oh mighty sun god of Soleanna, please free me of this restraining shell-" But the words dissolved into a scream as the sunlight seared his tender optics.

Elise turned to find Robo Knux with his arms over his eyes. "I've decided to become an atheist," he told her.

"You shouldn't look straight into the sun," she said with a smile. "Even the most loyal priests sun gaze while wearing protective lenses."

Robo Knux imagined rows of black-robed priests in sunglasses. Too bad the restraining shell didn't let him laugh.

* * *

On Sunday, Elise attended a church service at the Sanctuary of the Flame. Robo Knux, of course, went with her.

It was a centuries-old cathedral built of white stone. The inside was all pillars and arches, with a lofty dome above the altar. The inside of the dome was painted with winged humans and various flying Mobians. Robo Knux gazed at it, wondering which one was supposed to be their god.

Elise sat in the front row with her two servant girls, all dressed in shimmery blue. Elise wore green, which set off her red hair. Robo Knux adored the color green, especially on an attractive woman.

The priest walked to the altar with a lighted taper. A watermelon-sized candle sat there. At the touch of the taper, the candle's wick flared to life.

Elise flinched backward. Robo Knux glanced from her to the flame. As the priest spoke about how this flame represented Solaris, the Flame of Hope, all the color drained from Elise's face.

How fascinating. She prayed to Solaris all the time, yet shuddered away from open flame. This girl had issues. Maybe he could ask her about them if the shell permitted him.

Aside from lighting the candle, nothing about the service interested Robo Knux. He passed the time reviewing his growing blueprint of the castle and Soleanna itself, and seeking the best spots to plant incendiary bombs.

After the service ended, Elise and her servants made a quiet escape out the cathedral's side door. They walked through a strip of forested parkland that separated the castle from the cathedral's grounds. The forest was striped with concrete walkways, and they met a few other people who bowed to Elise as they passed.

Someday they'd bow to Robo Knux the same way. Maybe he'd let them live afterward as a reward.

The servant girls talked about the Festival and what each would be wearing. Elise walked behind them with her customary smile. Robo Knux tried twice to ask her about the Flame, but each time the shell stopped him. Blasted thing.

They arrived back at the palace, with its many stone pillars and vast marble bird wings spreading from the castle's main body. A white limousine sat at the curb, and guards clustered around it. As Elise and her entourage approached, a guard broke free and ran up to them. "Princess, the Lord Kaz has come to pay his respects. He arrived two days early and caught us unprepared."

Elise actually frowned. She gazed at the limousine and a faint line appeared between her eyebrows. "Show him to his rooms, of course," she said. "I'll dine with him tonight."

The guard saluted and ran back to the others. Elise sailed past the limousine, head up, every inch the monarch. Robo Knux scanned the car and the people inside it as they walked by. The lord was a tall, thin man in a suit, but Robo Knux learned nothing else about him. He'd examine him at dinner and plan his death.

* * *

At dinner, Robo Knux decided that the Lord Kaz must die sooner rather than later.

Kaz turned out to be a young man, newly come into his title. He had perfectly styled auburn hair, perfect white teeth, and laughed often. He made clever conversation with Elise and pressed her to talk about herself.

By now Robo Knux had gathered that Elise never talked about herself. He watched Elise bow her head and murmur pleasantries, and hatred uncurled inside him. Kaz must die. Somehow. Maybe at the Festival of the Sun, Robo Knux could drop the brazier on Kaz. That'd end his annoying life.

"And what is this thing?" said Kaz, turning his laughing attention to Robo Knux. "A Mobian robot?"

"He's my bodyguard," said Elise. "Robo Knux, introduce yourself."

"I'm Robo Knux, like her majesty said," said Robo Knux. "I think you should shut up before you hurt yourself."

Kaz slapped the table and roared with laughter. "It tells jokes! What else can it do?"

Robo Knux's fury inflated inside him and crushed itself against the restraining shell. Kaz caught his eye and winked.

What a jerk. Robo Knux hammered against the shell. Three seconds and he could jump over the table and stab his claws straight through Kaz's heart. Three seconds was all he needed.

"Please don't tease him," said Elise. "I believe he's had a rough past and I've tried to treat him kindly."

Robo Knux's fury deflated like a popped balloon. A rough past? Him? Well, if he looked at his violent life from her perspective, perhaps he had been a victim all along ... a victim of society's intolerance for violent, messy death.

"You're right," said Kaz, his smile vanishing. "I forgot my manners. My apologies, Robo Knux." Again he winked.

What was with this jerk? Robo Knux stepped up to Elise to hand her the roast beef platter, and successfully managed to knock Kaz's ice water into his lap. Kaz leaped up with a gasp. Servants rushed to wipe him off.

Robo Knux gloated about this until he caught Elise's look. She did not smile or frown. She merely stared at him a second longer than usual, and her displeasure hit him like a rocket in the torso.

Robo Knux slunk back to his spot behind her chair and stayed there. Was this what embarrassment felt like? He'd never experienced it before, and he never wanted to feel it again.

Curse his living nanite brain and its conflicts with his robot body.

* * *

Kaz hang around Elise as much as possible. But the Festival was only four days away, and Elise was embroiled in the details of pulling together a national spectacle and holiday. Robo Knux trotted at her heels as she spoke to caterers about the castle feast, pyro technicians about the firework show, and gave generous interviews to the press who camped out on the castle's front steps.

Mobians flocked to the city, and the hotels filled. Robo Knux saw people his own shape and height walking the streets among the humans. All of them gave him a wide berth. Had his reputation spread as far as East Mobius? Perhaps not, or rumor of his true nature should have already reached Elise's security team.

Word circulated that important Mobian dignitaries from across the sea were attending the Festival this year, too. Elise worked a little harder to make sure everything was perfect.

The day of the Festival, Robo Knux wished for the first time that his shell would let him help Elise more. With his flight capability, he could run messages far quicker than the human runners Elise used. Their long, spindly legs were so slow. But of course the shell let him do no such thing.

All day long Elise ran from place to place and spoke to dozens of different people. Robo Knux cataloged them all, and kept an eye out for Kaz. Kaz lingered in the background, watching unhappily, unable to get close enough to chat with Elise. Good. Let the jerk stew a little.

The sun sank. Elise and her servants had a light supper in a little restaurant that overlooked the marina near Soleanna's center. All the boats had been moved to make room for the vast floating platform that supported the brazier. Robo Knux eyed it out the window as the girls ate. By day it was a tangled mess of twisted metal and cables. But by night, it'd be magical.

After dinner, Elise rested in a chair on the restaurant's balcony for a while. Her servants left to don their Festival clothes, leaving Elise in Robo Knux's charge.

He rested both broad arms on the stone railing and watched the sun drop behind Soleanna's skyscrapers. Lights flickered on, yellow, red and green. People gathered around the edges of the marina, equipped with lawn chairs and picnic blankets. Merchants moved among them, selling popcorn, roasted nuts and drinks.

"My people love the Festival," said Elise.

Robo Knux turned to her. She reclined in her chair, but her eyes reflected the sun's orange light. Or did the light come from within her eyes, as if she burned inside?

"Yes, I see," said Robo Knux. The shell permitted him to speak, since Elise had initiated conversation. "Elise, do you ever laugh?"

"Laugh?" said Elise. She turned her head and the orange light left her eyes, leaving them shadowed. "Not really, no. Why should I?"

"I don't know," said Robo Knux. He leaned against the railing. "What do you think of that Kaz guy?"

Elise's vague smile returned. "He's pleasant, I suppose. I've been too busy to get to know him. Perhaps after the Festival."

The balcony's door opened, and one of Elise's servant girls looked out. "Time to get dressed, Princess."

Elise heaved a sigh and stood up. "All right. I'm ready."

Robo Knux followed her through the whirlwind of getting dressed, and last minute details that needed ironing out. One of the brazier's fuel channels had buckled and had to be fixed. A visiting dignitary requested better seating. The press complained that they weren't allowed close enough to the ceremony on the platform. And a hundred other concerns.

Robo Knux marveled at Elise's self control as she made decisions while her servants combed her hair. He'd have started killing people long ago.

But at last nine o'clock came. Robo Knux escorted Elise across the makeshift bridge and onto the platform. Elise carried a large, ornate silver torch, worked with bird wings in the image of Solaris. Fire burned inside it. The crowd cheered as they crossed the platform. It rocked slightly underfoot, and Robo Knux kept near enough to steady Elise if she lost her balance.

But Elise only took shorter steps as she reached the Solaris priests. Instead of sunglasses, the priests wore black visors that made their eyes look robotic. Not nearly as funny. They bowed to Elise, and she bowed back.

Then she raised the torch toward the bowl of fuel that would light the brazier. But Elise hesitated. She stared into the torch, and her eyes glowed orange again. No mistake about it this time. Robo Knux swept her with a worried scan. No chips, no implants, no excessive chaos energy. Nothing to indicate what made her eyes glow.

"Princess?" he murmured.

Elise's head jerked a fraction, and the glow left her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She touched the torch to the fuel.

Fire raced up the fuel channels in five different spirals. They painted patterns in the darkness, then sped upward and joined together in the brazier, which roared to life overhead.

The crowd cheered and clapped. Fireworks exploded in colored stars and flowers all around.

Robo Knux's scanner picked up incoming hostiles.

He grabbed Elise's arm and pulled her back a step, but there was no cover on this platform. He tried to fire his jets, but the shell locked him out of his controls. Curse it all!

Robots slammed onto the platform, making it pitch. Ten, twelve robots. Robo Knux swept them with a detail scan. E-500s. Dr. Robotnik's work. Didn't that just figure. He could destroy them all if not for this infernal restraining shell.

The robots trained their weapons on Elise, her servants and the priests. Everyone ducked and covered except Elise. She stood straight and gazed around her, lips pressed together. Robo Knux stood beside her, arms flung out. His wing shields were bulletproof, but he couldn't protect her from a firing squad arranged in a ring. Wouldn't they shoot each other, too?

The screech of a hover engine drew Robo Knux's attention. Out of the sky dropped Dr. Robotnik's all purpose egg-shaped hovercraft, now outfitted with enormous engines and mechanical fingers for grabbing.

Dr. Robotnik himself stood up and bowed to the princess. "Hello, Princess Elise. I decided to attend your lovely Festival this year. But there is a matter I must discuss with you. It involves not unleashing my robots on your adoring populace, and the ownership of that pretty chaos emerald in your pocket."

Elise clenched her fists and stood straight. Robo Knux imagined guiding a rocket up the left exhaust opening in Robotnik's craft. It'd be one more pretty firework explosion.

A gust of wind whipped Elise's hair across her face. One robot pitched off the platform and splashed into the water. Another fell headless. A third exploded into fragments as something struck it in the torso.

Elise covered her head. Robo Knux danced around her, waving his arms and deflecting flying debris. Without him, Elise would have been cut to pieces, but owing to his superior reflexes and fighting techniques, nothing touched her.

The attacking wind resolved itself into a blue hedgehog, who pushed the last robot off into the water. Then he turned and looked at Elise and Robo Knux. "Hiya, RK. Whose side are you on today?"

"Hers," snarled Robo Knux.

Sonic nodded. "Good choice. You okay, Princess?"

Elise nodded. She hugged herself and stared at Sonic.

Sonic turned and looked at Robotnik. "I suggest you get lost, Doctor."

"Who's going to make me?" said Robotnik. The hands on his ship twitched and the fingers opened. They were made of flexible cable padded in foam rubber. Perfect for carrying off princesses.

Robo Knux sidestepped toward the brazier's display. The central fireworks display had not gone off yet. He plucked a rocket from the holder and inched back to Elise. The shell wouldn't let him light it. So Robo Knux poked Sonic in the back with it.

Sonic turned and glared at him, then looked down at the rocket. Sonic's green eyes lit up. He flashed Robo Knux a grin, grabbed the rocket and stuck its fuse in the burning fuel beneath the brazier. "Better get moving, Doctor."

Robotnik only swung the ship closer, the hands reaching for Elise.

Sonic hurled the rocket. It ignited in midair and exploded against the front of Robotnik's ship in a splash of red and gold. Robotnik cursed and waved his arms. The ship's arms retracted, and Robotnik pulled up and flew away into the darkness.

Sonic dusted his hands together. "That took care of him." He turned to Elise and held out a hand. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog."

Elise timidly shook his hand. "I'm Princess Elise. Thank you for saving me. That was ... amazing."

Sonic shrugged. "No problem. It's what I do. See you around!" He ran across the platform, across the bridge, and vanished into the crowd.

Elise stared after him. Robo Knux grumbled to himself. He'd given Sonic that rocket, yet Sonic had taken all the glory. Well, what did he expect from Priority Jerk Number One?

Elise's servants hurried up to her, along with a bunch of soldiers. They surrounded her and the priests, and escorted them to safety.

The soldiers formed a perimeter to hunt for Robotnik and his robots, but they had vanished. Elise insisted that the Festival must not be canceled. "My people look forward to this all year. Tighten security, but let the festivities continue. Please."

As Robotnik was nowhere to be found, the captain of the guard reluctantly agreed.

Elise was ushered back to the castle. She issued a few orders, then went to her room and lay down. "Come inside and shut the door," she said to Robo Knux.

He obeyed, and looked around her pink room distastefully. In the dark it wasn't quite so pink, and two lamps made comfortable yellow pools of light in the corners.

Elise lay with her hands folded on her chest. "Robo Knux," she said, "tell me about this Dr. Robotnik."

"What do you want to know?" Boy, he could spill some dirt on Robotnik. Robo Knux had archives of the stuff.

"Who is he? Where did he come from?"

Robo Knux rubbed his metal hands together. "Well, he started out as the head science officer in Mobitropolis. But he invented the roboticizer and staged a coup against the Acorn monarchy ..."

It was a long lecture.

When Robo Knux finally finished, Elise was silent a long time. Maybe she'd fallen asleep.

At last she said, "This man is a threat to my kingdom."

"You think?" said Robo Knux.

"But you say this Sonic the Hedgehog is his mortal enemy?"

"Did I mention that?" said Robo Knux. "Sonic's defeated him a few times. A bunch of times. Odious little rodent is always the hero." He left out his own involvement with Sonic and Robotnik. Elise didn't need to know how many times he'd betrayed both sides.

Elise was silent again for a while. Then she said, "I must call Sonic for an audience tomorrow. Soleanna must be kept safe. You are dismissed, Robo Knux. And thank you."

Robo Knux returned to his post outside her door, irritated that she wanted to see Sonic, and absurdly pleased that Elise had thanked him.


	2. Chapter 2: Unplanned heroics

Tales of Soleanna

Story 2: Unplanned heroics

* * *

"I'm never getting married again," said Sonic.

"With any luck, you won't have to," said Sally.

The hedgehog and squirrel sat in plush first-class seats on an enormous passenger jet in flight somewhere west of Rio del Fuego. Sonic wore his usual gloves and sneakers, and had donned a bright red shirt printed with palm trees.

Sally was a fawn-colored squirrel with a swirl of auburn hair. She wore a blue vest and boots. Nothing about them suggested that they'd had their wedding a few hours previous, except the gold rings on their fingers.

Sonic held his ring up to the light from the window and rubbed it with his thumb. "So this is what it feels like to have the ol' ball and chain." He grinned at Sally. "Not much different, really."

She met his grin with a smile. "I get to sleep over now. That's about it."

Sonic leaned over the armrest and kissed her lips. "Dude, I could get used to this." He kissed her again.

"Hey Sonic!" Tails's head popped over the back of their seats. "Oh, gross. Sorry."

Sonic and Sally separated and smiled at him. "Get used to it, kid," said Sonic. "It's the way things are from now on."

"What's up?" asked Sally.

Tails displayed a black and white tabloid called the Mobian Investigator. It displayed the headline, "Sonic the Hedgehog: ambitious for power!"

Sonic snatched the magazine. "What the heck?" He leafed through it and arrived at a four-page spread covering the wedding.

Sally leaned over to look at the pictures. "Where were these people standing? They had to be right in front to get that angle."

"Aw man," said Sonic, pointing at one shapshot. "They caught me when I shot the champagne into my mouth."

Sally wrinkled her nose. "Not your most flattering moment."

Tails laughed behind the seat. "Read the article! They claim you only married Sally so you could take over the Mobian government."

"What?" Sonic's spines bristled as he scanned the text. "Those dirty weasels! Look at all this garbage they said about me."

Sally hefted her palmtop computer, Nicole. "That's why I never read tabloids. Too depressing." She reached over and gently closed Sonic's tabloid. "You don't need to read them, either."

"I guess." Sonic tossed the tabloid over the seat to Tails. He twisted around and looked back at the fox. "How many of these do you have, anyway?"

"Fifteen," said Tails. "I'm collecting them."

Sonic heaved a sigh and sat straight in his chair. After a minute he said over his shoulder, "You know, it feels really weird to have you along on our honeymoon."

"Hey, I just happened to book the same flight," said Tails. "It's not my fault they seated us together. All I wanted to do was go to the International Robotics Expo."

"Which sounds like such a blast," said Sonic, rolling his eyes. He leaned over to Sally. "Are you using Nicole?"

Sally held her computer away from him. "Maybe. Why?"

"I want to play Mad Moo."

Sally showed him the screen. She was busy launching cows from catapults to destroy structures manned by penguins.

"Awesome!" said Sonic. "I knew I married you for a reason, Sal."

* * *

It was an eighteen hour flight from Rio del Fuego to Soleanna. By the time it landed, Sonic was energy-hyped from sitting for so long.

Sonic forced himself to walk slowly (so slowly!) off the plane, through the airport, through the baggage claim, and through customs. Why did these things have to take so long? His legs itched with energy.

When they finally emerged from the airport terminal, Sonic set his bag on the sidewalk. "I'll find us a cab, guys. Wait here."

Sonic shot away down the parking lot toward the cab agency in its low concrete building. But why stop there? Running was glorious! He leaped up on the roof, ran across it, hurtled the airport fence, and launched himself toward downtown Soleanna like a missile.

Within minutes Sonic discovered that the city was crisscrossed with canals. He ran over the edge of one and nearly plunged into the water, but saved himself by landing on the deck of a pleasure boat and leaping back to the bank.

Sonic picked the tallest building and ran straight up it. Now this was a workout. For the first three stories his momentum carried him upward, but the higher he went, the harder his muscles worked. His chaos aura kept him magnetized to the side of the building, and he arrived at the top, panting. Stretching his calf muscles, Sonic gazed across Soleanna.

Glass office buildings dominated the downtown skyline, but many other buildings were built of yellow stone. Lots of domes, slender pillars and graceful arches with statues of winged creatures. These people had been here a long time, and loved their architecture.

He'd left Sally waiting for him. Sonic smiled. It'd taken him such a long time to commit to her, and now he was glad he had. What had he been afraid of? The freedom to love her? Their relationship had not changed, only taken on another facet. She was still his friend, and that was the best part.

Sonic leaped off the building and ran straight down the wall. When he was within three stories of the ground, he spiraled around it to lessen his speed and hit the ground at an angle instead of head on. He stumbled slightly and kept running. Man, he was getting rusty at this. Must do a lot more wall-running to get back in shape.

The hotel was closer than the cab station, so Sonic swung by and checked in. It was a grand old place with yellow stone walls, green marble floors, and statues engraved in every pillar.

Sonic roof-hopped back to the airport and called a cab. He jogged up to Sally and Tails, who still stood waiting at the curb. "The cab will be here in five minutes," said Sonic. He smoothed back his spines and picked up his bag.

"Where were you?" said Sally. "It's been ten whole minutes."

"See that skyscraper?" said Sonic, pointing. "I ran up it for a look around."

Sally knew better than to doubt such a crazy statement. Sonic had done far weirder things. Her lips pursed in amusement. "And what did you see?"

"Pretty place," said Sonic, smirking. "Lots of canals. I almost fell in one."

Sally shook her head. "Heaven knows you need a shower, not a bath."

"Sal," said Sonic, indicating his shirt and shoes. "I'm dressed up. I don't do baths."

The cab pulled up. Sonic, Tails and Sally piled their luggage in the trunk and rode to the hotel. Tails found that his sneakers slid over the marble floor. He moonwalked to the elevators, tossing his bag from hand to hand. Sonic tried it, too, and they performed a rotating moonwalk waltz around the lobby.

Sally rolled her eyes and hid a smile. "You two are such clowns."

Sonic and Sally had booked the honeymoon suite on the second floor. It spanned two rooms' worth of space, and had a vast balcony overlooking the landscaped green behind the hotel. Sonic zipped from window to window, jumped on the bed, and investigated the bathroom.

"The hedgehog approves," said Sonic, zipping back to Sally and giving her two thumbs up.

Tails's room was across the hall, smaller, but just as comfortable as Sonic and Sally's. There was a single bed covered in a brown and red quilt, pictures of sailboats on the walls, a writing desk, and a small balcony that overhung the street.

Tails heaved his suitcase onto the bed and pulled open the balcony door to admit the fresh air. He leaned on the balcony and watched cars drive by below. The air smelled different here. He breathed it through his nose and mouth, trying to identify the difference. More humid, maybe. Different sorts of plants producing different sorts of pollen.

Tails flopped on the bed, but he wasn't tired. He'd slept nine hours on the plane, and the time difference hadn't hit him yet. Besides, the International Robotics Expo had just started today. If Tails started now, he could get there in time for the panel with the latest Nanotech upgrades.

He jumped up, opened his suitcase and rooted through it. Pulling out a belt bag, he looped it around himself and stuffed it with money, his communicator, a tiny camera, and his room key. Survival kit assembled.

Tails knocked on Sonic and Sally's door. "I'm going to the Expo!"

Sonic opened the door. "All right, go ahead. We'll catch up later." He winked.

Tails snorted. "I'm glad I have my own room. See you!"

Down in the lobby, Tails added a map of Soleanna to his survival kit. Food. He needed snacks of some kind. What sorts of weird foods did they eat here? Fish, probably, judging by all the water.

The convention center was several blocks from the hotel. Tails trotted down the sidewalk, snapping pictures of everything. Boy, it was great to be off the plane. And in a completely new country! Even the cars looked weird here. Instead of the sleek boxes they used in the west coast human colonies, here the cars had enormous rounded wheel wells and silly driver's cabs like top hats.

Everywhere Tails looked were humans. It was a human colony, after all. But there were Mobians here and there, too, including species he'd never seen. Pangolins stalked along in natural body armor. Some kind of huge shaggy horse walked by on all fours with metal boxes strapped to its sides. It paused as it drew level with Tails. "Could I interest you in a frost cake?"

A few minutes later Tails walked on, nibbling a confection like a long twisted donut, but drizzled with white frosting. Snack acquired.

By the time Tails reached the Expo, he'd finished his cake. It left his throat as dry as paper, so he went inside the convention center and looked for a drinking fountain. The building was probably a converted church, judging by the stained glass windows. Carved pillars of winged humans supported the lofty roof.

And robots! Robots everywhere, even in the lobby! Tails forgot his thirst in his excitement. He dashed from display to display. Finally he joined the line for a badge, bought one for the duration of the Expo, and ran into the main exhibit hall.

There were robotic vehicles, and robotic arms for industrial uses. Tiny companion robots stood next to enormous construction drones. They ran on fusion cores, gasoline, or steam. Some operated with computers, others required a pilot, while others ran on nanotech processors. Like the Tornado. Man, the Tornado would have loved this.

Tails took lots of pictures and planned to email them to the Tornado tonight. It'd be so jealous.

The largest display took up the back wall. Fifty war robots stood in rows, white armor over black undercarriage, each gripping its weapon in both hands.

Tails gazed at the nearest robot. The red lights in its eyes were on. He waved at it, but it didn't move.

Slowly the hairs on his tails prickled erect. Tails checked the next robot, and the next. All of their eyes were alight. No robots in this expo were supposed to be operational. So why were these? And so many of them?

Tails found a convention attendant. "Hey, why are these robots activated?"

The attendant glanced over his shoulder at the robots. "Oh, don't worry about them. It's just for show. They're completely locked down."

Tails looked at the robots again, this time in profile. All their torsos were egg-shaped. His heart plunged into his socks and he tried to swallow down the sawdust in his throat. "Uh, who built these, anyway?"

The attendant pointed at the display sign. "A new scientist who signed up this year. Dr. Robonnic something."

"Robotnik?" said Tails, eyes widening.

"That was it," said the attendant.

Tails licked dry lips with a dry tongue. "Can you tell someone that these are dangerous? They should be removed immediately."

"There's no problem, I swear," said the attendant.

The attendant turned away to answer someone else's question, leaving Tails staring at the robots. He walked down the row and peered closely at each one. Finally on the last one, he spotted tiny lettering on its shoulder paneling.

E-500.

The E-series had advanced all the way to five hundred? Robotnik had been busy. They sure didn't look like the E-100s.

Tails danced in place. What should he do? Try to disable them all himself? That'd only get him thrown out of the Expo. He imagined all these robots stepping off their platform and striding through the crowd, mowing down people with a hail of bullets.

Tails raised his camera and snapped pictures of them. Then he left the expo and hurried back toward the hotel. He had to warn Sonic.

* * *

Sonic didn't freak out about the robots until he sneaked into the Expo and saw them himself.

He returned to Sally and Tails, who waited out on the sidewalk. Sonic hurried out to Tails and Sally, who waited on the sidewalk. Sonic's spines prickled down his back. "Those are Eggman's bots, all right."

The three of them gazed back at the convention center. "What do we do?" said Sally. "It's not like you can trash them."

"I know," said Sonic. He put an arm around her waist and clasped her to his side, and glared toward the convention center. "If anybody tries to hurt you, it'll be the last thing they ever do."

Sally kissed Sonic's cheek. "That's very sweet, Mr. Hedgehog. I could try to get a warning to the embassy here. If they don't know about Robotnik, it's our duty to inform them."

"Right," said Sonic, releasing her and straightening. "Tomorrow night's that Festival. I don't want to see Eggman ruin the whole thing. It's just his style, too."

"I should have brought the Tornado," said Tails, shaking his head. "I'd just upgraded its plasma rifle and everything."

Sonic shrugged. "You have your sweet kitsune powers now."

Tails rolled his eyes. "I can do illusion, Sonic. What good's that gonna do anybody?" Tails disappeared and a duplicate of Sonic stood there. He jumped up and down and waved his arms. Tails's voice said, "Look at me! I'm a duplicate Sonic who can't run fast!" Tails reappeared, shoulders slumped. "It's not so great."

Sonic slapped Tails's back. "Sure it is, little bro. That's one chaos power I haven't a prayer of duplicating. I'll bet Shadow can't do it, either."

Tails's ears lifted. "Really? I can do something Shadow can't?"

"You bet," said Sonic. "C'mon, let's find the embassy."

* * *

The Mobian ambassador received their news with grave attention, and promised to pass their news on to Soleanna intelligence. There was nothing more Sonic, Sally and Tails could do, so they went sight-seeing.

They had dinner on a boat that cruised slowly down a wide canal through the midst of the Soleanna, myriads of colored lights making wavering stripes on the water.

The next day they toured the famous Soleanna gardens, and glimpsed the fabulous Kingdom Valley to the north, a picturesque ruined castle in a secluded green pocket in the mountains. Sonic vowed to see it closer.

They passed the afternoon on the beach. As the sun sank, they made their way to the marina, which had been cleared for the torch lighting ceremony of the Festival of the Sun.

Sally's status earned them excellent seats opposite the brazier on the roof of a building. The roof was paved with tile and lined with a stone railing, and chairs had been provided. Sonic, Sally and Tails sat down and watched the crowd gather at the waterside.

Tails produced a bag of caramel corn from his survival belt. His crunching attracted Sonic's attention. "Hey, where'd you get that?"

"A street vendor," said Tails. "They're selling all kinds of goodies. Hey!" He held the bag away from Sonic. "What's the magic word?"

"Chaos please?" said Sonic.

Tails handed him the bag. "You should try that with a chaos emerald and see what happens."

Sonic grinned and tossed a handful of caramel corn in his mouth. "Probably nothing. Manners aren't chaotic."

"Here comes the Princess," said Sally. She leaned forward, rested her elbows on the railing, and held binoculars to her eyes.

Sonic squinted, but could only make out a distant figure in white, carrying a torch. "What's she look like?"

"Just a girl," said Sally. "Pretty, for a human. Oh my gosh. Is that Robo Knux with her? I think it is!"

"Let me see!" Sally passed Sonic the binoculars.

Robo Knux paced at the Princess's side, his green eyes flicking from side to side as he scanned the people around him. Sonic watched him closely. "You think he's trying to kidnap the Princess or something?"

"I have no idea," said Sally. "I thought he was still in Sapphire City."

"Me too," said Sonic. "Although I haven't exactly kept tabs on the jerk. If he tries anything, I'm gonna frag him."

Tails elbowed Sonic. "Oh heck, oh heck, look!" He pointed east.

Sonic swung the binoculars around. Silhouetted against the deep blue evening sky were the E-500 robots from the Expo. They flew in a wedge formation on hover jets, straight toward the Festival.

Sonic handed the binoculars to Sally and began a series of warmup stretches. "Looks like this Festival's going to have some extra fireworks."

"Sonic, be careful," said Sally, laying a hand on his arm, her blue eyes wide. "If the police fight the robots, you could land right in the crossfire."

Sonic flashed her a grin. "Hey, Sal, it's me, remember? I'm faster than a bullet."

"But not a laser," said Tails.

"Oh, don't be such a worrywart," said Sonic. "I checked the robots out at the Expo. They're carrying semiautomatics. Nothing to worry about."

Below, the Princess lit the brazier. It whooshed to life in a blaze of yellow and orange. Fireworks shot into the sky and boomed all around. The commotion hid the oncoming robots.

The robots flew overhead with a droning buzz like a swarm of wasps. Their hover jets clicked off, and they slammed down on the floating platform around the Princess. Another craft flew in the robots' wake-a round-bodied hovercraft with Robotnik himself at the controls. He descended toward the floating platform.

"That's my cue," said Sonic. "Watch how fast I take out these dudes."

Sonic leaped off the roof, landed in the street below, and shot across one of the chains anchoring the floating platform. Then he curled into a ball and launched himself through the robots. They'd been kind enough to line up, and Sonic's high velocity spines cut them down like a lawnmower through tall grass.

In five seconds, all the robots were down. Sonic rolled to his feet and zipped up to Robo Knux, who gave him a baleful stare. "Hiya, RK. Whose side are you on today?"

"Hers," snarled Robo Knux.

Sonic nodded. "Good choice. You okay, Princess?"

The princess nodded. She looked awfully calm for someone who'd just been assaulted by a bunch of robots and the Mustached One himself.

Sonic turned and looked at Robotnik. "I suggest you get lost, Doctor."

Robotnik's ship was equipped with flexible foam-padded fingers for live capture. It swung toward the Princess. "Who's going to make me?"

Sonic braced himself for a brutal spindash calculated to tear both sets of hands to shreds, but something poked him in the back. Robo Knux's claws? Sonic glanced over his shoulder and saw Robo Knux holding out a firework the thickness of a roll of paper towels.

Leave it to Robo Knux to find the most interesting solution. Sonic grabbed the firework and dipped its fuse in the puddle of flames below the brazier. "Better get moving, Doctor." Then Sonic threw it.

The rocket whooshed at Robotnik's ship and splashed fire over his windshield into the cockpit. Sonic swore that some landed in Robotnik's mustache. Robotnik flailed, and his ship turned and fled, still dripping sparks.

Sonic dusted his hands off, then offered one to the Princess. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog."

She slowly grasped his hand. "I'm Princess Elise. Thank you for saving me. That was ... amazing."

Sonic shrugged. "No problem. It's what I do. See you around!" He ran across the platform and crossed the water over the bridge this time. Then he circled through the back streets to avoid the crowds, and finally arrived back on the roof with Sally and Tails.

Sally threw her arms around Sonic's neck. "You're safe!"

Sonic hugged her back. "'Course I'm safe. That was nothing." He flung himself in a chair and propped his feet on the railing as more fireworks filled the sky. "Ahh, nothing like a good fight to make me feel at home."

"Was the Princess all right?" said Sally, sitting beside him and smoothing her skirt.

"Yep," said Sonic. "Robo Knux had the idea to shoot a firework at Robotnik. Hilarious."

"I saw that!" said Tails. "Pure genius. Serves him right for trying to ruin the party. What was he doing, anyway?"

"Oh, trying to kidnap the Princess," said Sonic, arms behind his head. "No idea why. You know him, always working on some nefarious scheme."

Sally scanned the crowd with her binoculars. "The guards got her out of here in a hurry." She lowered the binoculars and bit her lip. "This worries me, Sonic. They have no experience with Robotnik here. Why in the world would he want to capture their princess? Ransom?"

"Maybe," said Sonic. "He had a whole rig for capture, too. He didn't do that with your family."

"No," said Sally. Her eyes unfocused as she stared at the horizon. "He threw them straight to the roboticizer."

Sonic nodded. "My vacations never stay just vacations, do they?"

"Heck no," said Tails. "Sapphire City was supposed to be a vacation. It turned into Perfect Chaos."

"Drum drum high-hat," said Sonic, and bumped fists with Tails.

* * *

The next morning, Sonic, Sally and Tails arrived in the hotel lobby for breakfast, and found a card waiting for Sonic at the front desk.

Sonic opened it and glanced over it. "Check it out, Sal. Seems the Princess was so impressed that she wants an audience with me today."

Sally read the card and sighed. "First thing this morning, too. You'd better go and get it over with."

"You'll be okay?" said Sonic, his green eyes gentle.

Sally nodded and forced a smile. "I'll be fine. I'll go back to the Robotics Expo with Tails."

"Sweet!" Tails exclaimed.

After a quick breakfast, Sonic jogged through the streets and climbed a hill south of the city, where the castle reared into the sky. It was a tall, pillared affair, with huge stone bird wings flanking either side of the main structure. What was with these people and wings?

The guards bowed to Sonic and ushered him into the palace. Sonic whistled in admiration. High vaulted ceilings, polished marble floors, deep red carpets, statues, vases, and gold leaf everywhere. The Soleanna monarchy had it good.

Princess Elise awaited him in a small sitting room. Three couches were arranged in a half circle, and a low table sat before them with a teapot and cups on a tray.

Sonic didn't see Robo Knux until he'd exchanged bows with the Princess and sat down on the couch opposite her. Robo Knux stood against the wall behind the door, arms at his sides, glowing green eyes tracking Sonic's every movement.

"Whoa," said Sonic. "You're scary, RK."

"Robo Knux is my bodyguard," said the Princess. "He has been a faithful servant to me."

Sonic turned to her. "If you say so, Princess. What'd you want to see me about?"

"Please, call me Elise."

"Elise, then." Sonic watched her lift the teapot and pour two cups of tea. Her movements were deliberate, as if she never wasted a single motion. Or she was holding herself under strict control. Her skin was so white, Sonic wondered if she was ill. Her red hair looked like flames against her cheeks.

Sonic accepted the cup of tea, even though he didn't care for the stuff. "About last night, I was just doing my job."

"What is your job?" said Elise, looking at him.

"Stopping Robotnik," said Sonic with a grin. "It's also the most fun. No matter how tough his robots are, I always crunch them up." Why didn't she smile? Had he offended her?

Elise gazed at him. "Have you ever visited Soleanna before?"

"Nope," said Sonic. "Just got here a few days ago."

"How strange," said Elise softly, looking away. "I thought I'd seen you before." She drew a breath and squared her shoulders. "Tell me about Dr. Robotnik."

"Shoot, where do I start?" said Sonic. "He'd hidden a bunch of his robots at the Robotic Expo downtown. My friend Tails spotted them yesterday, so we figured they'd be out to cause trouble. Any idea why he'd want to kidnap you?"

Elise's lips parted, but she checked herself before any words escaped her. She folded her hands in her lap and gazed out the window. "Of course. I'm the ruler of Soleanna. I imagine my capture would signify great political gain on his part."

That hadn't been what she was going to say. What a weird girl. "Don't you ever smile?" said Sonic.

Elise looked at him and blinked. "What?"

Sonic grinned. "Just smile. Like this." He flashed his best grin.

Elise's lips stretched in a thin, vague ghost of a smile.

"No, really smile," said Sonic. "Like when somebody tells you a joke and you laugh."

"A ... a joke?" said Elise.

Great, Sonic. You're probably trampling all over Soleanna customs. Ah well, might as well do the thing thoroughly.

"A joke!" said Sonic. "You know, like the one about the sloth that was attacked by a gang of turtles. When the police asked the sloth what happened, the sloth said, "I ... don't ... know ... it ... all ... happened ... so ... fast."

Sonic laughed and slapped his thigh. Elise's vague smile widened into a real smile, and light flickered in her eyes for the first time.

Robo Knux rolled his eyes.

* * *

Sally wandered out of the convention center and stood in the shade of a pillar. Tails had gone to a panel with his favorite programmers, and Sally had nothing to do for the next hour.

She picked her way down the street, looking in the shop windows and trying not to miss Sonic. But here she was, on her honeymoon, and they'd already had to separate on business. But why was she surprised? This was how their life had always been. He'd always be off saving the day, and Sally would work behind the scenes to make sure there was something left to come home to.

Sally rounded a corner and found a pleasant spot between two buildings. An alley had been converted into a tiny park green, with a bench, two shade trees, and a tiny fountain. Birds hopped on the grass. A white hedgehog with long spines stood on the sidewalk, staring into the park as if entranced.

"Excuse me," said Sally.

The white hedgehog jumped and spun, arms raised defensively. He wore gloves with glowing fiber optic cables looped through the palms, and for a second Sally wondered if he was about to hurl some kind of fireball at her.

But the hedgehog composed himself and lowered his arms. "Sorry," he said. "I'm just ... I'm new here." He looked back into the park.

He looked a lot like another white hedgehog Sally had met. But it couldn't be the same one. This hedgehog's scratchy, pubescent voice told Sally that he couldn't be older than fourteen. "Are you here alone?"

"No. Yes." The hedgehog stared at the ground. "I'm looking for someone. We came together, but we got separated."

Sally nodded at the park. "Would you like to go sit down for a while?"

"Could I?" said the hedgehog, eyes widening. He had yellow eyes, and a shock of spines that stood straight up from his forehead, as if his eyebrows had exploded. Just like the other white hedgehog.

"Sure," said Sally. "What's your name? I'm Sally."

"Oh. I'm Silver." How odd. Wasn't that the other hedgehog's name?

They walked onto the grass and sat on the bench. The birds flew away as they approached, and Silver watched them, mouth open. As they sat down, he stooped and touched the grass.

Sally watched all this. Silver must be from the desert, if he reacted so strongly to the sight of grass and water. He certainly looked strange for a hedgehog. There were only two long spines on the back of his head, and none elsewhere on his body. Instead of spines he had a thick coat of white fur.

He didn't act much like the other hedgehog. But Sally couldn't remember, because she'd only met the other hedgehog once.

"Where are you from?" said Sally.

"Um." Silver fidgeted. "A long way away."

"Oh." What kind of an answer was that? Maybe he was an escaped experiment of some kind. He did look awfully thin. "I'm from West Mobius," said Sally. "I'm here on my honeymoon."

"Wow," said Silver. "Congratulations." He peered at her curiously, then looked away as if embarrassed.

"Here's an odd question," said Sally. "Have you ever been to the Floating Island?"

"What's that?" said Silver. "How would an island float, anyway?"

Sally shrugged and smiled. "Nevermind. I just thought I've seen you before, or someone who looks like you."

Silver frowned, and his thick forehead-tuft lowered over his eyes. "There are forces at work here that I don't understand." He stood up. "I need to find my friend."

Sally rose, too. "I'll help you. Just describe your friend and I'll help you look."

They left the park and walked down the sidewalk. "Well," said Silver, "she's a purple cat with a long purple coat..."

At least Sally had something to do until Sonic got back.


	3. Chapter 3: The Unknown future

Tales of Soleanna

Story 3: The unknown future

* * *

"Silver, we need to leave before the tide comes in," said Blaze.

"I want to see it for myself," said Silver.

The white hedgehog and purple cat stood on the roof of a ruined building. The remains of a city lay for miles around them, pieces of walls, single pillars, scattered masonry, piles of twisted metal. In the city's center, most of the buildings had disappeared into the lava long ago.

Silver kept a wary eye on the red glow as he faced the ocean. He didn't want one of the Flame Beasts sneaking up on him.

The sky overhead churned with black clouds heavy with volcanic ash. Sometimes, on calm days, the sun peeked through for a few minutes. Some people told stories about how the sun used to shine for weeks at a time. Plants used to grow all over the world, not just in the lamp caves.

Silver wasn't sure he believed the stories.

Silver was a white hedgehog with two long spines protruding from the back of his head. Instead of spines, the rest of his body was covered in a thick pelt of white fur. But to make up for losing his natural defenses, nature and the chaos field had given him a powerful telekinesis ability. His mother had sewed power focus crystals into his gloves and shoes to help him use it.

Beside him, Blaze shifted uneasily and thrust her hands into her coat pockets. She was a purple cat and always wore her purple coat. Of course, the only place in the world where it was still warm was near the Flames of Disaster. Maybe wearing a coat all the time wasn't such a bad idea. But Silver's pelt kept him warm enough.

The ocean's waves struck the rocks and foam spurted three stories high. The black water stretching into infinity always struck dread into Silver's heart. After all, the water had taken his mother and his father.

"He's coming," said Blaze.

Silver glanced around at the ruins around them. "I think we're high enough in the hills."

"Never think you're safe," said Blaze. "I've seen too many people die."

The black water surged inland. It poured across the beach and into the city in a tidal wave. Not very high, but with no end. It pressed inland further and further, swirling through the gaps that had once been streets. A building folded in on itself and collapsed in a cloud of dust and foam.

"I don't see him," said Silver.

"You won't, until he reaches the Flames," said Blaze.

Silver shot her a mischievous grin. "Want to fly?"

"No," said Blaze.

Silver grabbed both of them in his telekinesis field. A blue glow surrounded Blaze and Silver, and they rose into the air.

Blaze folded her arms. "I told you, no."

"Too bad." Silver shot through the air toward the red glow in the ruins, dragging Blaze behind him. She'd kick his butt for this later. But Silver had to see.

No one spoke of the Day of Disaster. When he asked the elders what made the sky black, they pointed at the Flames.

Now that his mother was gone, Silver was determined to defeat the Flames. Wasn't he the most powerful chaos user his village had ever known? Surely he could defeat a monster, because he never had to get close to it. Besides, he had to avenge his mother and father.

Down below, the waves crashed into the first lava fissure with a shrieking hiss. Silver hovered. "Do you think that killed the water monster?"

"Don't stop here," said Blaze. Her flat tone belied her fear. "The explosions will get us."

Silver shot off to the left. Steam billowed up in clouds where the sea struck the lava, and hid whatever was happening on the ground. Silver hovered over a rooftop without landing. "You think we should get closer?"

Then he gasped. Out of the steam rose a dragon head made of water. It was the size of a skyscraper, with jaws large enough to swallow Silver's entire village. Its scream shook the ruins and several buildings collapsed.

Out of the lava rose the fire-demon Iblis. It had five misshapen lava arms, and its glowing head was helmeted with layers of cooled basalt. It waded through lava toward the water dragon with a deep, bubbling roar.

"Silver, let's go, let's go," Blaze said in his ear. But Silver couldn't tear his eyes away. Such huge monsters! Were they going to fight?

The dragon flowed forward to meet Iblis. For a second their forms engulfed each other. Then steam and ash billowed skyward, hiding the battle. But Flame Beasts tore through the nearby buildings, leaping from roof to roof, maddened by Iblis's rage. They bounded toward Silver and Blaze like grasshoppers, their molten bodies glowing through the steam.

Silver grabbed a broken steel girder with his telekinesis, fist clenched as if he held it in his hand. He whipped his arm forward, and the girder tumbled end over end and tore through three Flame Beasts in midair. They splattered into gooey rock and plunged into the water below.

The water dragon rose out of the steam, its head twisting toward Silver and Blaze. For a second Silver stared into the green eye on the side of its head. The enormous pupil contracted to a slit. Then the head turned and the jaws opened. Silver stared into the indigo cavern of its mouth as blue light gathered in its throat.

Blaze grabbed Silver's arm. "Silver! Fly!"

Silver whirled and fled through the sky, carrying Blaze with him. He glanced back in time to see the dragon belch forth a beam of blue light that sliced a row of buildings in half. They collapsed in slow motion as the dragon turned back toward Iblis.

Finally Silver landed on the mountainside above the ruined city. He set down Blaze on a boulder and closed his eyes, holding his throbbing head. He'd exerted his power far too long.

"Serves you right," said Blaze with a sniff. "You just saw Perfect Chaos and Iblis. Happy now?"

"No," said Silver in a low voice. "There's no way to defeat either of them. How do you defeat the earth and the ocean?"

"All you need is the truth," said a voice.

Silver and Blaze turned. A black hedgehog stood on a rock fifteen feet up the hill from them. The creepy old hermit who still lived in the city. Silver had heard about him. People said he was insane.

Silver glanced at Blaze, who shot him a wary look. Silver licked his dry lips. "What truth are you talking about?"

The hedgehog's head turned toward him very slowly. "The truth about the Day of Disaster. The truth about the Iblis Trigger."

"And I take it you know this truth?" said Silver.

"Yes," said the hermit. "Accompany me into the city and I'll show you."

Silver pointed at the storm rising from the city's center. "I don't know if you noticed, but there's a couple of battling monsters in there."

"The Archive is nowhere near them," said the hermit. "You will be somewhat safe."

Of course, nowhere on Mobius was truly safe. Silver's desire for information battled with his distrust of strangers. He bit his lower lip. "All right. But if you pull anything, I'll smash you through a wall."

The hermit said nothing. He merely turned and walked down the hillside. Silver followed him, and after a moment, so did Blaze.

The hermit led them down a winding path into the ruins. The path plunged under the skeletal framework of a collapsed building, and finally arrived at a tarnished steel door. The hermit pushed it open and stepped into the hallway beyond. Silver and Blaze followed at his heels.

Centuries of dust lay in the corners, but a shiny path had been worn down the center by the hermit's passage. Greenish light filtered in through cracked, grimy windows. The further they went, the cleaner the floor became. They turned a corner and passed under a flickering light in the ceiling. Silver stared at it in awe. Electricity! Technology his village had lost long ago

More lights appeared in the ceiling, some with wiring exposed, as if the hermit had worked on them. After a while they arrived at a doorway, and the hermit walked inside.

Silver stared at the three walls covered in glowing screens. He drifted inside, mouth open. "Blaze, look at this!"

"I see it," said Blaze. She entered and stood with arms folded, ears pointed backward. What was her problem? This was amazing!

The hermit walked to the control panel under the screens and tapped several buttons. "The Day of Disaster happened two hundred years ago, when the Iblis Trigger released the Flame from its imprisonment."

Pictures appeared on the screens. Images of the city in sunlight, with whole buildings and people. Fire erupting in the midst of it. Oceans rising. The sky darkening until the sun became a legend. Shots of other lands Silver had never seen, all devastated by Flames of Disaster and the battles of Perfect Chaos.

"After the Flames were unleashed," said the hermit, "the world's leaders decided that the best course of action was to gather the seven Chaos Emeralds and throw them to Perfect Chaos, the beast who inhabits the oceans. He rose in wrath against the Flames, but neither can defeat the other. Instead they destroyed the world."

The floor shook underfoot and the lights flickered.

"How does that help me defeat them?" said Silver with a rock settling in his stomach.

The hermit turned to him. This close, Silver noticed that his yellow-green eyes had slit pupils, like a cat's. The hermit said something, but Silver missed it because he'd just noticed the hermit had no mouth. His muzzle was completely smooth.

"Uh," said Silver. "What'd you say your name was, again?"

"I am Mephiles," said the hermit. "Pay attention, Silver. The Flames were unleashed by the one known as the Iblis Trigger."

How did he talk with no mouth? Where did the sound come out? Silver tried to focus on Mephiles's words and ignore the shudder running through him. "Uh, yeah, Iblis Trigger. Who was it?"

Mephiles reached into his robe pocket and produced a glowing violet gem. He placed it in Silver's hands. "Gaze deep into the chaos emerald, Silver. See your enemy."

Silver looked into the gem. How was it an emerald if it was purple? And what made it glow? There was a spark of light in the gem's heart. As Silver stared at it, the light expanded to fill his vision. Orange flames leaped up amid the purple. A blue hedgehog with red sneakers stood in the flames. Silver studied him, fixing the image in his mind. "I see a blue hedgehog."

"He is the Iblis Trigger," said Mephiles. "Two hundred years ago, he unleashed the Flames of Disaster upon the world. If you travel back in time and destroy him, the Flames will still lie dormant. Your world will be saved."

Silver tore his eyes away from the gem and handed it back to Mephiles. "Did you say travel back in time?"

"Yes," said Mephiles. "You have the power of telekinesis. I possess the power to travel through time."

Time travel? Silver gazed at Mephiles, then at the computer screens. All things were possible with chaos, of course. What did Silver have to lose? The worst thing that could happen was he'd die and join his parents. "What're we waiting for?" said Silver, spinning to face Blaze. "Let's go save the world! Are you coming?"

Blaze gave him her usual inscrutable look.

Silver grabbed her hands. "Blaze, this is our chance. We can stop Iblis and Chaos from the past! When we come back, the sun will shine again!"

Blaze looked toward the hallway.

"Please, Blaze," said Silver. "I need you to come with me. I think better with you around."

Her yellow eyes flicked back to his face. She sighed. "All right, Silver. I'll come."

Mephiles said nothing. He reached out one finger and brushed the fur on Silver's chest, leaving a greasy smear. Before Silver could complain, Mephiles lifted a hand and a shimmering purple sphere appeared in midair over his palm. It expanded until it encircled all three of them. Silver's fur prickled with static electricity. He floated up off his feet and hung in midair.

The computer room vanished. Silver dropped to the ground into overwhelming light. He gasped and shielded his face. Mephiles had warped him into the Flames! Silver levitated himself off the ground by reflex, soared upward, and crashed into something hard.

Silver sprawled on the ground, head spinning. Stupid! Of course there'd be debris. But why did the ground feel so soft? Come to think of it, it wasn't hot. There was no fire smell.

He sat up, rubbing his head. What was this tufty green stuff all over the ground? It looked like the sod cuttings in the lamp caves. Wait a minute. It was grass. Grass everywhere. Silver peered around as his eyes adjusted. A tree towered overhead, branches spreading in every direction. He'd bashed his head into one of them. So many leaves! And-was that the sun shining through them?

Silver leaped to his feet and ran out from under the tree. Blue sky! He tried to look at the sun and had to shield his eyes again. It really was brighter than the Flames! Just like people said! He laughed out loud and turned in a circle. Trees and grass and blue sky and sunlight. So beautiful. Mephiles had sent him into the past after all!

But where was Blaze?

His elation turned cold. "Blaze! Where are you?" No answer. No sign of her on the grass or under the trees. Somehow they'd gotten separated. Maybe it had something to do with the greasy stain Mephiles had given him. Silver brushed at it in disgust. In broad daylight, the smear looked like a black thumbprint on his chest fur. Gross. It must have upset the time travel power.

Maybe Blaze was nearby. Silver levitated into the blue sky, taking care to avoid the trees this time. The ground fell away, and the green world lay all around. Hills with clusters of trees everywhere, and lots of open grassy meadows. The mountains hugged the horizon in a blue haze. Wait, he recognized their shapes. In his time, this area was the Waste north of the ruined city.

Wow. So much had changed in two hundred years. Iblis probably burned all this as soon as he appeared. Silver's spines drooped. His time was so different. But if the Iblis Trigger died, then Silver's time would still look like this.

Silver dropped back to the ground. If Blaze was around here, she'd head for the city. What did it look like when people lived there, anyway? The Iblis Trigger was probably there, too.

Silver walked twenty feet, started to pant, and floated a few feet off the ground. Then he shot through the air with a grin. Why walk when you could fly?

He wove in and out of the trees as he traveled, looking for Blaze. There was nobody out here but animals. Birds startled from the trees as he whisked past. What did people look like in the past? So many races were extinct in his time.

Wait, what was that? Silver drifted to a halt, head turning, ears lifted. Voices. Definitely voices. He dropped to the ground and walked toward them. The strangers were on the other side of a grove of trees.

Silver ducked behind a tree and peered around it. The ground fell away in a low bluff below him, and a gravel road stretched north and south. A black hedgehog walked along it, accompanied by a black bird taller than he was. Mephiles?

Silver squinted. This guy had exactly the same curve to his spines, but one leg was made of metal. He could be Mephiles's twin, though.

The black hedgehog said to the bird, "There's no reason for you to come. It's dangerous. You'll probably die."

"You always say that," said the bird. It flared the orange crest on its head. "But I haven't died yet, have I?"

"No, more's the pity," said the hedgehog. "Wait." His head jerked up and he stopped. He looked straight at Silver as Silver ducked behind the tree.

Burn it all. Being a white hedgehog meant he couldn't hide anywhere, ever.

"I saw you," said the black hedgehog. "Come out."

Silver looked out from behind the tree. What if this guy attacked him? The black hedgehog carried no weapons, but Silver knew what chaos power could do. Silver clenched one fist. "What do you want?"

The black hedgehog smirked and folded his arms. "To know why you're hiding. Are you spying on me?"

"No!" Silver stepped out from behind the tree. "I just got here, and I heard voices. I wanted to know who it was."

Cursed Flames, half of the black hedgehog's body was metal, not just his leg. His arm and face, too. His mechanical eye had a glowing red iris. Silver's fur prickled. If this dude tried anything, Silver would throw him like a javelin.

The black hedgehog gestured to his chest. "I'm Shadow the Hedgehog. Who are you?"

"I'm Silver." Wait, should he give out his name? What if that altered the timeline for the worse? Too late now.

"If you're headed to Soleanna, it's that way," said Shadow, pointing south down the road. "In fact, I'd suggest you go there. And don't follow me. Or I might be forced to do something I'll regret."

Silver gulped. "Right. Nice meeting you, Shadow. Bye." He edged onto the road and hurried away. A backwards glance revealed Shadow and his bird watching him go.

Once a bend of the road hid them from view, Silver launched himself skyward and rushed south toward the city. That black hedgehog radiated danger. There must be violence in his chaos aura. Hopefully Silver wouldn't ever see him again.

Also, the city was called Soleanna? Of course it had a name at one point. Silver had only ever heard it called the City. He'd better get over these assumptions, or other people would think he was really dumb.

* * *

Silver's first glimpse of Soleanna left him speechless. He hung in midair for almost ten minutes, just staring. The afternoon sun reflected off the glass skyscrapers and turned the stone buildings to mellow gold. There was water everywhere, contained in neat canals, and the ocean was much further away. By Silver's time, Chaos must have worn away the coast in his attempts to attack Iblis.

Silver dropped to the ground near a main road and followed it into town. He drifted along, stopping often to stare at passing cars, or the people, or the riverboats with their paddles dipping in the water.

If only Blaze were here! Silver had no one to share his culture shock. Silver always processed things best if he talked them out, and without Blaze to act as his sounding board, his thoughts remained unfocused. The beauty of the long-dead world overwhelmed him. Only an uneasy emptiness inside him reminded him that he had come here to kill someone.

Silver pushed the thought out of his mind. He paused on the sidewalk and gazed into a little green area between two buildings. A little stone fountain trickled into a white basin, and birds hopped on the grass. A shrine to Chaos? But it radiated such peace.

"Excuse me," said a voice.

Silver spun and flung up his arms, reflexes trained from years of being stalked by Flame Beasts. But instead of a monster, it was only a lady squirrel in a blue dress. She looked concerned and kind.

He'd better be careful or he'd hurt someone. Silver composed himself. "Sorry. I'm just ... I'm new here."

The lady squirrel followed his gaze toward the fountain. "Are you here alone?"

"No. Yes." Heat flooded Silver's face. Why did he sound like such a moron? "I'm looking for someone. We came together, but we got separated."

The lady squirrel nodded at the shrine. "Would you like to go sit down for a while?"

"Could I?" Silver's eyes widened. Commoners were permitted in holy places?

A smile warmed the lady squirrel's blue eyes. "Sure. What's your name? I'm Sally."

Where were his manners? Silver cleared his throat. "Oh. I'm Silver."

Sally stepped onto the grass and sat down on the bench. Silver sat beside her and watched the birds fly away. The fountain pattered in a continual music. Not like the roar of a tidal wave. Water for refreshment, not destruction. Amazing.

"Where are you from?" said Sally.

"Um." Silver interlaced his fingers. "A long way away."

"Oh. I'm from West Mobius," said Sally. "I'm here on my honeymoon."

"Wow," said Silver. "Congratulations." She was married? Well, how was he supposed to know? She did have a ring on her finger. Hopefully he wouldn't get in trouble for sitting with her.

"Here's an odd question," said Sally. "Have you ever been to the Floating Island?"

"What's that?" said Silver, trying to picture such a thing. "How would an island float, anyway?" So many fantastic things had perished in the Day of Disaster.

Sally shrugged and smiled. "Nevermind. I just thought I've seen you before, or someone who looks like you."

Uh oh. What if she had seen him from some other time travel jump Silver didn't know about? "There are forces at work here that I don't understand." He stood up. "I need to find my friend."

Sally rose, too. "I'll help you. Just describe your friend and I'll help you look."

They left the park and walked down the sidewalk. "Well," said Silver, "she's a purple cat with a long purple coat. Her name is Blaze and she makes fire with her chaos powers."

"Hm." Sally thumbed her lower lip. "I haven't seen anyone by that description, but I'll keep an eye out for her." She smiled. "Chaos powers, huh? Do you have some?"

"Yeah." Silver looked down and his face warmed again. Funny, he usually loved showing off his telekinesis. But in the few minutes he'd spent with Sally, he desperately wanted her approval. What if telekinesis wasn't good enough? He held out one hand, displaying the chaos fiber woven into his glove. "I can move things with my mind. My gloves have focuses on them."

"Wow!" said Sally, eyes sparkling. "Can you lift this car here?"

A parked car sat at the curb. Silver grabbed it with his telekinesis and lifted it a few feet in the air. Sally clapped. He set it down as warmth flooded his middle. Maybe telekinesis was impressive after all.

"Wait until Sonic sees that," said Sally. "He'll turn positively green."

They walked by a street vendor selling roasted nuts and sausages. Sally paused and pulled out a pocketbook. "Want something to eat?"

Silver smelled the hot food and his stomach growled. His last meal had been leftover gruel at breakfast. "Yes, please."

A few minutes later, Silver and Sally walked on, eating food out of napkins and talking. "Where I'm from, we have to work hard just to survive," said Silver. "We only eat meat on special occasions, and even then it's only fish."

"Where do you live?"

"Way back in the mountains." Silver waved vaguely south.

"Why don't you move somewhere better?"

Silver almost said, "There is nowhere better," but caught himself. He couldn't tell anyone he was from the future. News might get back to the Iblis Trigger.

They rounded a corner, and an orange fox with two tails hurried up to them. "There you are, Sally! I've been looking all over for you. Who's this?"

"This is Silver," said Sally. "Silver, this is Tails. He's one of my friends."

"Nice to meet you," said Silver, eyes raking Tails's face. The fox had friendly, eager eyes. He was a few years older than Silver. Silver instantly craved his approval, too. So many new people to make friends with! Maybe he shouldn't, since he was from the future. But they'd all die soon anyway.

Silver's heart jolted a little at the thought. How horrible. Yes, the Iblis Trigger must die, not only to save the future, but to save the lives of his new friends.

"Do you like robots?" said Tails. "The Robotics Expo is going on in there. I can loan you my badge and you can sneak in for a look around."

This fell on Silver's ears like a foreign language. "Uh ... no thanks." He lifted his napkin-wrapped sausage. "I'm still eating."

"You bought him lunch and not me?" said Tails, giving Sally an indignant look.

Sally laughed and handed him a few coins. "There's a vendor up the street. Help yourself."

Tails dashed away and returned a few minutes later with his own food in napkins. The three of them sat on benches in the shade outside the convention center. Tails rambled about the panel he had just attended. Silver imagined a flat piece of metal with people sitting on it, talking.

Silver finished his lunch and sat there while Sally and Tails ate theirs. The convention center had a wide stone plaza in front of it, and people milled about everywhere. Tables with chairs and umbrellas clustered at the far side, probably near a place to eat. There was so much food here! Silver had grown up with constant hunger, and the concept of plenty was alien to him.

Wait a minute. There was a blue hedgehog walking across the plaza toward them. The blue hedgehog from Mephiles's vision. The Iblis Trigger!

Silver stood up and walked away from Sally and Tails. The Iblis Trigger must not harm them.

Silver caught the blue hedgehog in the middle of the plaza. He grabbed the hedgehog with his telekinesis and smashed him against the ground. "That's what you get, Iblis Trigger!"

The blue hedgehog scrambled to his feet, holding a bloody nose. "What? Who are you?"

Silver ground his teeth. The monster deserved an explanation, at least. "My name is Silver. You're the Iblis Trigger. Your actions will condemn us all! To save the future, I must destroy you!"

The blue hedgehog fled with astonishing speed. It was like watching a bird fly. How could any living thing move so fast? But no, the Iblis Trigger must not escape! Silver grabbed up a set of unoccupied tables and chairs and hurled them at the hedgehog. Most of it crashed to the ground, but a chair caught the hedgehog in the side of the head and knocked him sprawling.

Silver levitated and flew after the Iblis Trigger. Why was there nothing heavier around here to throw? Only flimsy cafe furniture. All the cars were out on the road, and they had people in them. Nobody else must die. Only the Iblis Trigger.

The blue hedgehog crawled to his feet, holding his head. "Look, there's been some mistake. I don't even know what you're talking about!"

Silver raised a hand, but hesitated. The Iblis Trigger wasn't some faceless menace. He was a person. Silver heard his mother's voice deep in his memory-"You must never, ever use your powers to hurt another living being."

But if Silver didn't kill the Iblis Trigger, then his world would remain dark, locked in perpetual violence and death.

Silver grabbed the Iblis Trigger in his telekinesis and lifted him off the ground. One good smash against the concrete ought to do the trick.

People screamed behind him. Silver glanced over his shoulder and forgot the Iblis Trigger.

An enormous beast stomped across the plaza toward him, jaws open. It walked on two legs, had a huge square head with rows of white teeth, little arms, and a long tail. Some kind of killer lizard, and it was big enough to swallow Silver whole. Silver clawed at it with his telekinesis. Nothing happened.

Silver looked at his gloves. Why couldn't he grab it? He tried again, and still his grasp passed right through the monster. It snapped its teeth and broke into a heavy run.

Silver ran for the shelter of the nearest cafe. The monster's jaws closed right behind him, and he fancied he felt its hot breath. Silver plunged into the cafe and ran all the way to the back. When he turned to look out the windows, the monster had vanished.

It was several minutes before Silver's heart stopped trying to beat out of his chest. His panting slowed. Where had that thing come from? Maybe it was a robot from the convention center. Tails had mentioned the giant things in there. Aw man, the Iblis Trigger was probably gone. Why was Silver secretly relieved? He wanted to save the future, didn't he?

A cautious look out into the plaza showed him that the monster was gone. So was the Iblis Trigger, along with Sally and Tails.

Silver wilted. They'd probably watched the whole thing. What must they think of him?

"Silver?"

He turned. Sally stood outside the cafe, carrying a chair, which she set beside a table. She was cleaning up his mess. Silver felt like even more of a jerk. He waved a hand, picked up the rest of the tables and chairs, and returned them to their original spots. "Sorry about that," he mumbled.

Sally put her hands on her hips. "Why did you attack Sonic like that?"

Oh, burn it all. The Iblis Trigger had a name. Silver tried to meet Sally's furious eyes and had to look away. "Because he's the Iblis Trigger."

"Yes, so you said. Sonic is my husband."

Strike two for the jerk. Silver studied the pavement. She was on her honeymoon with the Iblis Trigger. Sonic. Good name for him, as fast as he moved.

Silver forced himself to meet Sally's eyes. "Sally, I'm from the distant future, where the Flames of Disaster have destroyed the entire world. Sonic is the one who releases them. If I kill him, then the Flames will never be released and my world will be like-like this." He gestured to the plaza.

Sally's eyebrows drew together. "You expect me to believe a story like that?"

Silver held up both hands. "It's the truth. It's why I'm here."

Sally stared at him for a moment longer. Then she said quietly, "Sonic would never destroy the world, Silver. If I had to choose between the world and Sonic, I'd choose Sonic." She turned and walked away.

Silver stared after her. She'd suckerpunched him right in the conscience, and his confidence drained away. He needed to think about this. Preferably from inside a hole in the ground, where he belonged.

Silver levitated straight up and flew back to the water shrine where he'd met Sally. It seemed like a good place to think.


	4. Chapter 4: Unwilling

Tales of Soleanna By K.M. Carroll

Story 4: Unwilling

* * *

"I had no choice, Nox," said Shadow.

Shadow skated along a dirt road, his hoverskates lifting him three inches off the ground. He moved at an easy pace, not more than twenty miles an hour. A long-legged bird ran beside him, its jet black feathers gleaming in the sun.

Its mouth glowed orange as it spoke. "I don't know why we're working for GUN anyway. I know how much you hate them."

Shadow's living eye narrowed. He shook his head, rattling his black and red spines against the two steel blades on the left side of his head. "The Mobian government were persuasive. If I worked for them, GUN would take me down and claim the Mobians were using me as a weapon. But if I approached GUN and offered my services, they'd have me safely under their eye."

"I read your contract," muttered Nox, barely opening his beak. "If you screw up, they'll stick you back in cryo."

Shadow didn't answer. He skated faster, leaving Nox behind.

The bird's feet pattered on the road behind him, and a moment later Nox appeared at Shadow's side again, legs pumping. The road climbed the hills in long winding loops, the pavement turning to gravel, and finally a pair of dirt tracks. Robotnik had sure picked a remote spot.

Shadow owed him a fist to the teeth for what Robotnik had done to him at their last meeting. Or maybe Shadow would hold Robotnik down, break his leg, and instantly heal it. See if the coward even stayed conscious.

Ahead, the road plunged through the trees in a long green tunnel. A good place to catch their breath. More cover from prying eyes.

Shadow's skating strides slowed to a leisurely stroll. Nox dropped to a walk beside him, wings and beak open as he panted. Shadow cast him a sideways look. "You shouldn't have come."

"You weren't leaving me behind this time!" said Nox, orange crest flattening as he glared at his master.

"There's no reason for you to come. It's dangerous. You'll probably die."

"You always say that," said Nox. "But I haven't died yet, have I?"

"No, more's the pity," said Shadow with a half-grin. Chao were resilient little things, especially with a chaos emerald stuck in their mouths.

"Shadow," said a feminine voice in the robot half of Shadow's brain. "Someone is standing behind that tree to your right."

"Overlay," said Shadow inside his head. The Maria AI opened a window in his robot eye. A tree appeared outlined in a wire mesh, and a warm body behind it appeared in shades of red.

"Wait," said Shadow aloud, halting and throwing out an arm to stop Nox. Something white whisked behind the tree. "I saw you," said Shadow. "Come out."

A white hedgehog peered around the tree. His forehead spines stood up like a fan of feathers. "What do you want?"

Shadow folded his arms. "To know why you're hiding. Are you spying on me?"

"No! I just got here, and I heard voices. I wanted to know who it was." The white hedgehog stepped out from behind the tree. Shadow traced him with a scan and had Maria file it. Abnormal amounts of chaos power radiated from this stranger. Maybe he'd divulge his name.

Shadow gestured to himself. "I'm Shadow the Hedgehog. Who are you?"

"I'm Silver."

Shadow filed that, too. He pointed south. "If you're headed to Soleanna, it's that way. In fact, I'd suggest you go there. And don't follow me. Or I might be forced to do something I'll regret."

Silver shrank back a step. "Right. Nice meeting you, Shadow. Bye." He fled down the road. No super speed, at least. Shadow and Nox watched him go.

"He was terrified," said Nox.

Shadow drummed his fingers against his metal thigh. "Do you think he was tracking us?"

Nox's crest raised and lowered. "I don't think so. I felt fear and wariness. Spies usually aren't that scared. They keep their emotions controlled."

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "Since when have you been around spies?"

Nox ruffled his feathers. "GUN interrogated me three times while you were in training. Mostly I told them what they were feeling, and usually, it wasn't much."

Shadow resumed skating up the road. "What did you tell them?"

Nox ran after him. "Stuff they knew. How you were the Ultimate Lifeform and you're so awesome and cool."

Shadow couldn't suppress a smile. "Bet they didn't like that."

"Nope. But they admitted I'm loyal to you."

"To a fault," said Shadow through his teeth.

The road carried them higher and higher into the hills. Now and then a dirt road branched off and disappeared behind the trees. Vineyards spread in terraces on the hills. But the higher they climbed, the fewer those became. The trees drew together into clumps of forest. The air cooled.

As the sun sank to their left, Shadow and Nox found a clearing a few feet from the road, and sat down to share dinner from Shadow's backpack. The black bird spat out a fist-sized orange chaos emerald, and shrank into a black chao with spines curved like Shadow's, but striped orange instead of red.

Shadow produced energy bars, jerky and dried fruit. They ate without speaking, and passed a single water bottle back and forth.

Shadow finished first. He stood and stretched his legs against a tree trunk, first his flesh leg, then his robotic leg.

Nox said, "I've got to ask. What's our mission, anyway?"

"A GUN agent sneaked into Robotnik's base up here," said Shadow. "They never came out. I'm the rescue team."

"Oh! A rescue!" said Nox. He wiped his forehead with a round paw. "I couldn't figure out where you were keeping the explosives."

Shadow grinned over his shoulder. "Believe me, I asked for C4."

They packed up. Nox bit the chaos emerald, his teeth clicking against its diamond-hard facets. His body stretched back into a long-legged phoenix, the chaos emerald embedded in his mouth.

Twilight shrouded the world in blue and gray as the pair took to the road again. Nox ran behind Shadow as his avian night-blindness set in. Shadow skated like a ghost without a sound, but light shone from his hoverskates. He activated his robot eye's night vision, and followed the road with its aid.

"Maria," Shadow said to the little AI, "how much farther?"

"Just under two miles, Shadow," she replied. Maria hovered in his mind's eye, a golden-haired girl in a blue and white dress. She smiled. "I've loaded your strongest area scanner. You'll need to stop while it runs, so find a hiding place first."

"Right." She was so much kinder than Mekion. Mekion would have rebelled, suggested a different plan, or ignored Shadow altogether. Shadow still carried precancerous spots in his brain from Mekion's abuse. Even six months later, Maria still hadn't repaired all the damage.

Night had taken full hold of the world when Shadow glimpsed lights washing out the stars. Around the next bend, the road dove into a narrow valley in the mountains. A series of low buildings huddled into the hillside as if trying to hide. Lights lined the perimeter fence, and two guard towers loomed up in opposite corners, their spotlights playing here and there.

An enormous four-legged robot prowled around the inside of the fence. Some kind of dog-thing. As it drew level with Shadow, it halted and stared at him.

Shadow grabbed Nox's neck. "Chaos control!"

They teleported to the hillside above the buildings. The dog bayed like a klaxon, and the guard towers directed their searchlights to the spot where Shadow had been standing. Finding nothing, the lights searched back and forth, combing the road.

"Morons," said Nox softly.

The dog turned its head and stood listening.

Shadow wrapped his hand around Nox's beak.

After a long moment, the dog resumed its pacing along the fence. Shadow pressed a finger to his lips, and Nox nodded with his crest flattened. Shadow crept down the hill in the dark, Nox behind him. Shadow slipped behind a boulder, flattened himself against it and told Maria, "Scan for doors, please."

"You said please!" said Maria as the scanner began its slow sweep. "We're finally making progress."

"Oh, shut up," Shadow said inside his head.

Maria shook a finger at him. "Don't give me that, Shadow. I may only be a memory of Maria, but you'll treat me with respect."

Shadow didn't answer. At least she only harassed him when he spoke to her first. She seldom initiated conversation unless she was alerting him to something important. Much better than Mekion, the AI with delusions of grandeur.

The scanner revealed details of the base beneath Shadow's feet. Hallways, rooms, hangers filled with robots. Definitely one of Robotnik's hangouts. What a strange place for it, though. The scanner picked up more structures to the northwest, but they were crumbling to ruin. Had Robotnik recommissioned somebody else's base? It'd probably be cheaper than building his own.

Maria zoomed in the scan and highlighted one area. "This access gate is guarded by two robots, but it has no alarm systems."

"Excellent." Shadow slipped out from behind the rock. Nox's claws scrabbled on the rocks as he followed.

The access gate was set back in the mountain side a hundred feet away. The robots were a couple of E-500s armed with some sort of beefy rifle Shadow couldn't identify in the darkness. If a human approached them, the robots would cut him down with a quick burst of lead.

Shadow approached them at a dead run, the hill's slope adding to his momentum. He curled into a ball at the last second. His keratin and steel spines sliced through the robots' metal like a sawblade through styrofoam.

The robots did not fall so much as explode across the hillside. Shadow bounced to a halt, uncurled, walked to the gate and pushed it open. Nox trotted up to him and whispered, "So awesome!"

Shadow allowed himself a smirk. If nothing else, Nox made a good cheerleader.

* * *

Rouge the bat sat on a bench in a tiny holding cell. She'd paced, she'd exercised, she'd stretched, and she was back to waiting. Why hadn't Robotnik hauled her off for interrogation? Did he even know she was here? The robots had grabbed her and stuck her in here, but there wasn't another living soul in the base.

At least they'd given her water and some kind of lukewarm soup that morning. Rouge's insides still ached with hunger. Next mission, she'd request a cutting laser as part of her equipment. She'd have been out that door hours ago.

Footsteps outside. Rouge sank into a fighting crouch. If it was her turn for the roboticizer, she'd take the robots down first.

The door slid open, and a black hedgehog looked inside, his digital red eye shining like a flare. "Oh. It's you."

Rouge straightened, mouth falling open. "Shadow? Or is it Mekion?"

"Mekion is dead," said the hedgehog, turning away. "Come with me if you want out."

Rouge stepped out of the cell and looked up and down the cellblock. No guards, but a tall black bird stood at the end of the hallway, head jerking as he kept watch.

Rouge pointed. "Who's the chicken?"

"My chao Nox. I dare you to say that to his face."

Oh yes, Nox. It was far too easy to imagine the bird rising into his burning phoenix form and instantly cooking them in this metal hallway. "Maybe some other time."

Shadow and Rouge hurried up to Nox, who glanced at them with one eye as he watched an adjoining hallway with the other. "Guard patrol every five minutes," he reported. "One just passed."

"Wait," said Rouge. "The robots took my gear. I need it before we go."

Shadow gave her a disparaging look. "Really?"

Rouge put her hands on her hips. "Really."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Hold on a minute." He stared blankly down the hallway.

Rouge frowned at him. He sure acted like Mekion was still in there.

After a minute Shadow said, "Let's go." He skated off down the hall, and Rouge and Nox followed him.

Shadow led them down a hallway, turned left at an intersection, and cut through a dark room with equipment piled together under tarps. Beyond that was a control room with computer monitors on three walls. Rouge's equipment was lined up beside the console. She strapped on her wrist communicator, her scanners and network uplinks, and plugged her headset into one ear.

A big glass thing lay beneath the gadgets. Rouge eyed it as she donned her gear, but Nox and Shadow were more interested in the contents of the monitors. A glass scepter banded with black metal, a blob of black liquid sealed into its center. A pair of wings spread outward from the top, as if the scepter had once belonged to Soleanna royalty.

Rouge snatched up the scepter. "All right, let's go."

"About time," said Shadow.

Shadow led them down a disused hallway where only one light flickered at the far end. Then he wrenched a door open and led them through a stone passage that wound through the rock as if eaten away by a giant earthworm.

"You're not going to ask me about this?" said Rouge, waving the scepter at Shadow.

"No," said Shadow.

Rouge shook her head. "You're no fun." Actually, now that Shadow had returned to his old anti-social self, she liked him even more. Shame Shadow never noticed her. "What are you doing here, anyway? Did Metal Sonic let you off the leash?"

"Mecha told me it was time for me to choose my own path," said Shadow. "I applied to the Mobian government and they referred me to GUN."

Would wonders never cease? "I thought you hated GUN."

"I do." Shadow cast her a sideways look. "I forgot the xenophobes did employ some Mobians."

The hallway bent left and sloped steeply upward. A draft of fresh air swirled into the tunnel. A moment later, Rouge followed Shadow and Nox out of a cliff onto a grassy hill under the stars.

Excellent! Rouge's equipment picked up a satellite signal. Better call in before the signal gave out. She pressed a hand to her headset. "Rouge the bat reporting in. Shadow's rescue attempt was successful, and I have the artifact."

"Excellent," said her handler. "Report to the extraction point by oh-six-hundred."

"Affirmative, Rouge out." Rouge signed off. "They'll pick us up at the extraction point at six."

"Where is it?" said Shadow.

Rouge pointed off into the unguessable darkness in the distance. "There's an old helipad near the castle ruins in Kingdom Valley. GUN can reach it without breaking too many international laws."

"How reassuring," said Shadow. "I can see, but can either of you?"

Rouge flipped her nightscope over one eye. "I can see just fine."

"You two suck," said Nox. "The only way I can see anything is to turn to fire and light it up."

Shadow held out a hand to the bird. "Drop the emerald and I'll carry you."

Nox spat out the emerald, wiped it on the grass, and handed it to Shadow. Shadow set Nox on his shoulder, where Nox burrowed between Shadow's living spines to ride next to his neck. Shadow looked at Rouge. "Are you tired?"

"I've been locked in that room for eighteen hours," said Rouge. "I'm hungry, not tired. And you still haven't asked me about this." She held up the scepter, which glowed a dim purple.

"Because I don't care," said Shadow. "Nox, get her a snack."

Nox dug around in the backpack, and handed Rouge an energy bar. Rouge peeled off the wrapping and devoured it. "Thanks!"

Rouge followed Shadow at a run through the hills and down across the Kingdom Valley. Rouge didn't care for the decor, especially at night. Cracked roads had trees growing through them. Roofless buildings. Rusted out cars still sitting beside crumbling curbs where their owners had abandoned them. It looked like a bomb had dropped.

The epicenter of the ruin was the old castle. It was a pile of charred brick with an intact wall here and there. If zombies had crawled out of the darkness and shambled after them, Rouge would not have been surprised. She shook herself. Get your imagination in check, girl. That scepter is more frightening than zombies.

For such an awful instrument of evil, the scepter insulated it well. It felt neither hot nor cold in her hand, and no detectable chaos energy radiated from it. All it did was glow purple. Why did GUN want this thing, anyway? Possibly because Robotnik had spent so much time and money acquiring it. Anything Robotnik wanted couldn't be good.

As they reached the helipad a short distance from the castle ruins, lights flashed on overhead, catching Shadow and Rouge off guard. Rouge's nightscope whited out. Shadow cursed and covered his robot eye.

"My my, who is this?" said Robotnik's voice from somewhere above the lights. "Shadow and Rouge! Trying to make off with my scepter, are you?"

Rouge danced backward, trying to escape the lights, but they tracked her. "You, of all people, don't need the Scepter of Darkness."

Shadow looked from the hovercraft to Rouge, spines bristling.

Robotnik waved a hand, and eight burly robots strode up to surround the mobians, all carrying lights on their shoulders. His hovercraft was equipped with padded capture hands. They opened as his craft swooped at Rouge.

"Catch!" Rouge threw the scepter in a high arc to Shadow.

Without thinking, Shadow caught it in his metal hand. The scepter shattered on impact and black goo splashed Shadow's hand and the ground. "Aw hell."

Robotnik threw his hoverjets into high gear. "I'll leave you two to clean up this mess!" He fled across the valley.

"Now what made him run like that?" said Rouge. She surveyed the robots. "These shouldn't give us any trouble."

"Uh, bigger problems," said Shadow. He backed away from the black goo on the ground, which spread out, stretching to engulf tufts of grass and small stones. The glop on Shadow's hand oozed off and joined its parent, not even leaving an oil slick.

The blackness swirled off the ground and shot toward the robots. As it touched each robot, the machine shuddered and collapsed to the ground, its light dying. Rouge stared, open-mouthed. Some kind of ghost? Icy chills rippled down her spine.

"We might want to consider running," said Shadow.

The last robot's light somehow stayed on, trained on Shadow and casting a sharp black shadow behind him. The smoky goo flowed into this shadow. It spread out until it exactly filled the shadow's every line in perfect blackness. Then it rose into the air, first as a flat cutout of a hedgehog's shadow, then a copy of Shadow himself, but gray where Shadow was red. But both eyes glowed yellow-green.

Shadow backed away, upper lip curling. "Am I really that ugly?"

"People get used to it," said Rouge. "You should have asked me about the scepter." Her heart thundered in her chest as her instincts screamed to run for her life.

The copy of Shadow turned its head, gazing at Shadow and Rouge by turn. "Surprised to see me, Shadow?" Its voice sounded like Shadow's, but ever so slightly off. "I must admit, I never expected to be resurrected through your shade. For that, I thank you." The creature bowed.

Shadow stood his ground, fists clenched. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"

Still bowed, the creature said, "I am Mephiles the Dark. I know everything about you, Shadow. What, did you forget me?" It paced toward Shadow, still bent in a bow.

Rouge backed away another step, wings trembling and ready to launch her into the air. She'd carried a zombie in her hand the whole time.

Mephiles reached Shadow and slowly raised a hand. Shadow danced out of reach. Mephiles straightened up slowly, as if he'd never owned a body before and wasn't sure how it worked. A glowing purple ball formed over his palm. "What you gave me, I now return to you: a one-way trip to oblivion."

The sphere expanded until it touched Shadow. Shadow instantly vanished. Before Rouge could react, the sphere touched her, too.

Electricity crackled over her whole body. Then darkness fell.


	5. Chapter 5: Unwavering

Tales of Soleanna

Story 5: Unwavering

* * *

Robo Knux gripped a teapot in both hands and poured it into three waiting cups. It'd be so satisfying to crush the pot and watch the glass fly. But the restraining shell kept him from doing any such thing.

The cups filled, Robo Knux transferred them and the pot to a platter and carried them out of the kitchen, down a hallway and through a door onto a wide veranda facing south. The morning sunlight cast warm bands of light across the polished wood floor, and illuminated brilliant violets and pinks in the vases of flowers that lined the veranda railing.

Princess Elise and Lord Kaz sat at a glass-topped table near the railing, making polite small talk. Robo Knux transferred the teacups to the table, then set the teapot in its designated cozy. Elise gazed out over Soleanna and ignored him, but Kaz winked at Robo Knux.

"I hope he scalds his mouth," said Robo Knux inside his head, since he couldn't say it aloud. He departed and returned with a tray of flat breads sparkling with sugar, which he placed beside the teapot. Three chairs, three teacups, only two people present. Who was the third?

Robo Knux placed himself beside the veranda door, detected someone coming, and opened the door. Sonic stepped through. "Heya RK, thanks for that."

If only Robo Knux could slam the door on Sonic's stupid spines. His core temperature jumped twenty degrees as Sonic sat down at the table. Jerk. Elise greeted Sonic with a wide smile.

Robo Knux could only stand there as his heatsinks dumped the energy into his core coolant. With this much extra energy, Robo Knux could have relieved Sonic of all four limbs in two-fifths of a second. But the shell kept him motionless.

"I wanted to show you something," said Elise. "You too, Lord Kaz."

Kaz and Sonic sat up a little straighter. Elise lifted a handbag from under her chair, and pulled out a blue gemstone the size of her fist. "This is my lucky charm. I thought Sonic might find it interesting."

"That's a chaos emerald," said Kaz.

Sonic and Robo Knux both stared at Kaz. Elise merely looked questioning.

Kaz noticed their stares and shrugged. "What? I've seen pictures."

Sonic picked up the emerald and turned it over. "Where'd you get this, Princess?"

"I've had it since I was a little girl," said Elise, smiling. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Sonic frowned. "Gorgeous." He tossed a glance at Robo Knux and lifted an eyebrow.

Robo Knux understood the frown. All seven chaos emeralds had been in West Mobius for a decade. Sonic had used them. Robo Knux had used one or two himself. How had Elise managed to pick one up half a world away?

Elise misread Sonic's frown and her smile vanished. "You don't like it?"

Sonic passed it to Kaz, who examined it closely. "Sure I like it. I'm just trying to figure out where you got it. These are really rare. There's only seven of them, you know."

Elise said something Robo Knux missed. His scanner blazed warnings into his consciousness: incoming hostile! Prepare for attack! He took one step forward and hit the restraining shell.

Robotnik's hovercraft descended into view beyond the railing. Its enormous padded hands reached forward and closed around Elise, sending the table, chair, and Lord Kaz flying. Sonic leaped clear and spindashed the free hand, but it swatted him away and sent him careening around the veranda like a pinball. Robo Knux shielded himself with both arms, and Sonic bounced off him.

"Sonic!" Elise yelled.

Sonic uncurled and ran back toward the hovercraft as it pulled away.

"Take this!" Elise hurled the chaos emerald. Sonic caught it and watched as Robotnik's craft turned and flew away across Soleanna.

The restraining shell finally processed that Robo Knux's charge was in danger, and lifted its restrictions. Robo Knux stumbled forward, caught himself, and ran to stand beside Sonic. Lord Kaz picked himself up and ran indoors.

"You were less help than he was," said Sonic through his teeth.

"Oh shut up," said Robo Knux. "I've got a restraining shell. Let me scan." He targeted Robotnik's retreating ship and triangulated a possible destination. Then he queried the satellite network and looked for any known military bases in the area.

"A restraining shell?" said Sonic, biting his lip to hold back a laugh. "Like one of those software straitjacket things?"

"It's turned off right now," said Robo Knux. "You might want to keep your distance. I've fantasized about disemboweling you for two days."

Sonic sidestepped away from the robot's diamond-tipped claws..

"Aha," said Robo Knux. "Robotnik's got a base in the mountains near Kingdom Valley. Looks like he's taking Elise straight there."

"Great," said Sonic. "I'm going after them."

"You?" said Robo Knux, giving Sonic his most disgusted look. "You don't care about her."

Sonic folded his arms. "Look, this is my job description. Stop Robotnik, rescue the princess. Help if you want." He leaped over the veranda railing and darted away down the lawn.

Robo Knux called palace security and told them what happened. In the resulting confusion of mobilizing soldiers, the robot slipped out of the castle. Rescuing Elise might be Sonic's job description, but Elise was Robo Knux's crush. Maybe she'd notice him if he saved her.

The restraining shell's new permissions allowed Robo Knux access to the jets in his dreadlocks. He pumped his jealousy energy into them, and shot into the sky like a missile. He soared over Soleanna, arms outstretched for stability, and didn't even think about leveling it. It was simply an obstacle to avoid.

As the city limits gave way to suburbs and farmland, Robo Knux's scanner alerted him to hostiles on the road below. He ran a detail scan. Sonic and Tails. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, with the shell letting him talk. Robo Knux had weeks of bile to unleash on an audience.

He tucked his arms and dove out of the sky. Sonic and Tails saw him and ran in opposite directions. Ah, they knew him so well. Robo Knux cut his jets and landed on the road, smoke trailing from his dreadlocks. "I'm on your side," he said, holding up both hands. "Look, see? You're both still alive."

"What do you want, RK?" Sonic called from a safe distance.

"The same thing you do," said Robo Knux. If he could smile, he'd show them some fangs. "The freedom of Princess Elise. Unlike you, I know exactly where she is." He trotted up the road, and a moment later, Sonic and Tails joined him, keeping out of stabbing distance.

"Sonic said you've got a restraining shell," said Tails. "What's it like?"

"Like being tied and gagged," said Robo Knux. "It makes me obey orders. It's only let up because I'm supposed to save Elise. It'd probably turn on again if I attacked you. But don't count on it." He sized up Tails. Little bugger was getting tall. "Where's your dumb airplane robot?"

Tails glared at him and didn't answer.

"I see," said Robo Knux. "Somebody blew it up. About time."

"RK, the least you can do is not be a jerk," said Sonic.

"No, the least I can do is not kill you both," said Robo Knux. "I'm already doing that."

Sonic nodded at Tails, and they broke into a run designed to leave Robo Knux in the dust. Robo Knux watched them go and laughed. Once they'd vanished around a stand of trees, he ignited his jets and tore after them.

The journey up into the mountains became a battle of egos, Sonic and Tails trying to outrun the robot, and Robo Knux overtaking them repeatedly. "Face it," said Robo Knux, catching them gasping for breath on a steep grade. "Neither of you should still be alive." He stood still on the path and held up one clawed hand. "Hold it. We're almost there."

Sonic and Tails tried to quiet their breathing. Snow dusted the mountaintops ahead, and Robo Knux's scans indicated hostiles. Loads of them. All robots.

"Aw yeah," said Robo Knux. "This is it. I hope you guys are ready to kill some robots."

"Yes, actually," said Sonic, glaring.

* * *

The E-500 robots shredded exactly as Robo Knux imagined they would, their hard armor only a shell over the plastic beneath. He tried to bisect one perfectly, but their bodies fragmented once his claws struck their core. What a design flaw.

Sonic and Tails tackled the enormous prowling guard dog. Robo Knux cleaned out everything else. When he finished, Sonic and Tails were still fooling around with the dog. Sonic had dealt it a few hits and its head armor was gone, but the thing had gone berserk and Sonic couldn't get near it.

"Oh yeah, make me do it," said Robo Knux. He poured power into his jets and shot himself at the dog like a dart, arms held in front, claws extended like four javelins.

Robo Knux punched straight through the robot's body like a bullet. He emerged on its far side with vital-looking circuitry impaled on his claws.

The dog lurched forward, then toppled on its side, jaws open and lights flickering. Sonic and Tails gaped at it.

Robo Knux picked wires out of his claws. "That's how awesome I am."

"I'd already done all the work," said Sonic. "The thing's shields were down."

"You keep telling yourself that," said Robo Knux. He walked past Sonic and Tails to the base's front door. It was a steel security door with a keypad beside it, locked, of course.

Robo Knux punched his claws straight through it. He punctured it again and again in a circle, outlining a hole three feet across. Then he stepped back with an enormous bow to Sonic. "If you'd please spindash this, we'll go inside."

Sonic smirked. "Teamwork, RK? I never thought you had it in you." He dashed away across the courtyard for the extra space, then sped back, curling into a ball at the last second. He punched neatly through the hole and vanished inside. Lasers flashed, robots yelled, metal clattered. Then silence fell. Sonic reappeared at the hole. "Come on in, I handled it."

Robo Knux and Tails climbed through the hole. Robo Knux stepped over the scattered robot parts and strode down the hall. "Elise and Robotnik are down this way. I think this is a trap. All the doors between us and them are open."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Sonic. He winked at Tails, who nodded.

Those two were planning something. Well, Robo Knux expected them to plan something. His own plan consisted of a frontal assault and embedding his claws in Robotnik's heart. If that didn't impress Elise, nothing would.

They jogged through the base. No robots intercepted them and all the doors were locked except the ones along the main passage.

"Yeah, definitely a trap," said Sonic.

"Why are we walking into it, then?" said Tails.

Robo Knux motioned to himself. "Because you've got me."

Sonic pointed at him. "What he said."

At last the hallway ended in a brightly lit circular room. As they stepped in, the door shut and locked behind them. "Cue trap," said Robo Knux.

"About time," said Robotnik's voice.

Robo Knux spotted his old master looking out of a window ten feet up the wall. Killing him might be a little more difficult than Robo Knux had anticipated.

"Where's Elise?" said Sonic, folding his arms.

Robotnik pulled her into view. Elise wasn't even tied. She stood there with Robotnik, chin up, but eyes fixed on the mobians in the chamber below her.

Robo Knux waved. Elise lifted a hand and curled her fingers in return.

"Now," said Robotnik, "give me that lovely little blue emerald."

A vacuum tube rose out of the floor. Sonic sighed and shook his head, but placed the gem on the tube. It vanished down the tube and rattled through the pipe under the floor.

Instantly a red force field lit up around the perimeter of the room. "Oh, yeah, here we go," said Sonic. "Didn't see this coming at all."

"I'd like to show you my latest invention," said Robotnik, grinning down at them. "I call it the Solaris Project." He pulled down an enormous lever.

The red force field contracted. Robo Knux's electric shock absorbers maxed out just before he blacked out.

* * *

Rouge the bat opened her eyes. The sky overhead was dense with sooty clouds, and the air's chill penetrated her jumpsuit. She sat up.

Shadow was just climbing to his feet a few feet away, clutching Nox to his chest in both hands. "Ow, my head," Nox moaned.

"Is he all right?" said Rouge, slowly standing up. No broken bones, no bruises. Only a vague weakness from the electric shock's power.

"He's fine," said Shadow. He lifted Nox back onto his shoulder and turned in a circle. "Where are we?"

The ruined castle and town had vanished. The mountains around them were still shaped the same, but the Kingdom valley was a desert. No grass, no trees. Only gray earth and bare rock. Rouge rotated on the spot, trying to understand. This was definitely the same place. Mephiles had said he was sending them to oblivion.

"Maybe it's a parallel dimension," said Shadow, obviously thinking along the same lines.

"At least he didn't come with us," said Nox. "I've never been so scared in my whole life!"

Oh yes, Nox was an empath. Rouge stepped up to Shadow and looked at the chao. "What did you feel from Mephiles, anyway?"

Nox's eyes widened as he met Rouge's gaze. "First I thought nothing. It was like looking down a bottomless hole. Black all the way into infinity. It wasn't really a feeling, just...darkness. I wouldn't want him to ever touch me."

"Me either." Rouge shuddered.

Shadow pointed. "Robotnik's base was back that direction. If this is a parallel dimension, or a different time, we need to see if the base is still there. It'll give us a clue."

Shadow and Rouge ran across the desert toward the hills to the east. Rouge kept watch in all directions. Creepy places like this were always infested by monsters. Maybe more shadowy things like Mephiles. But nothing stirred, not even an insect. The world was dead, and the dull clouds concealed the sun.

The tunnel leading into Robotnik's base had collapsed, but its outline was still there. "It might still exist, then," said Shadow. He held out his robot hand to Rouge and hefted the orange chaos emerald in his other hand. "Let's make this easier on all of us." Rouge took his hand, and Shadow said, "Chaos relocate!"

The dim world shifted to a dark room, lit only by three grimy computer monitors. "Straight inside the base?" said Rouge, flipping on her night scope. "You took an awful chance."

Shadow ignored this and stepped up to the computers. "How strange that these have power. Someone must keep them running. Stand guard, will you?"

Rouge peered out the computer room's open door. The hallway was layered in dust, but some of the overhead lights still worked. She pricked her sensitive ears and listened. Silence. Deep, padded silence, like inside a crypt. Shadow's fingers on the keyboard made the only noise.

"I see," Shadow murmured. "Rouge, this is Robotnik's base."

"I figured that out," said Rouge, hands on hips. "Anything else?"

"Yes," said Shadow, tapping keys. "We're at least two hundred years in the future. Maybe more, depending on when this database was updated."

Rouge abandoned the doorway and hurried to the screens. She gaped at them for a moment, then pulled herself together. "So Mephiles sent us through time."

"Yes," said Shadow. "His power felt similar to my own chaos control."

"I noticed that," said Nox. "More static in Mephiles's power, though. Like it's not as focused."

"Perhaps," said Shadow. "Hmm."

Something thumped out in the base somewhere. Shadow and Rouge whirled. Voices spoke in the distance, echoing through the empty halls.

Shadow jerked his head at Rouge and hurried from the room, breaking into a skating glide as soon as he gained the hallway. Rouge ran at his heels, heart racing. Two hundred years in the future, and the world was in ruins with the sky blacked out. Obviously there'd been a nuclear war. Were the survivors horrible mutants with deadly alien weapons?

Shadow pushed through a half-open door into a dusty control room with grime an inch deep on all the old levers and buttons. A broken window looked down on a circular room.

Inside the room stood Sonic, Tails, and oddly enough, Robo Knux. They gazed around with eyes wide, or in Robo Knux's case, claws up in case of attack.

Rouge gave Shadow an amused look. His smile was nearly a grin. Of course he'd never admit to being relieved, but she knew he was. She stepped up to the broken window. "Oh hi. I didn't expect to see you guys here."

The three gaped up at her. "Rouge and Shadow?" said Tails. "What's going on?"

"Last come, first tell," said Rouge. "There's a broken door behind you, there. Meet you at the control room."

* * *

A quick visit to the control room informed the newcomers as to their situation. Then they abandoned the base and returned to the surface. They climbed a hill overlooking Soleanna, and all five of them stared in shock.

The once beautiful city had become a decimated wreck. Only random standing walls or girders marked where a building had once stood. Worse, an ominous red light flickered deep inside the ruins, as if an eternal fire burned at their roots.

"Robotnik sent us here with some Solaris project thing," said Sonic. "It was like a mechanical chaos control, but more ... electrical."

"Funny, Mephiles's power was the same way," said Shadow.

Sonic squinted at him. "Mephiles?"

"Long story," said Shadow. "The point is, chaos control got us here, and it might send us home."

"I left my emerald back in the hotel," said Sonic. He gestured to the ruins. "It might even still be there, who knows?"

"I do know chaos control doesn't move through time," said Shadow. He gazed into the distance, and his eyes unfocused. "But Mecha told me about a time travel command he discovered. Chaos shift. You try to teleport inside a time stop. But it doesn't work like Mephiles's power."

"Teleport inside a time stop?" said Sonic, rubbing his chin. "I've never thought of stacking commands like that. Have you ever done it?"

"No," said Shadow.

"Try it," said Sonic.

Shadow held up his emerald. "Chaos control." He vanished. A second later he reappeared, shaking his head. "It works, all right. The trouble is, one emerald isn't enough power to take us all so far through time. We need another emerald."

"Good thing I'm here," said Rouge. "I'm the leading expert in tracking chaos emeralds."

Sonic gave her a disgusted look. "Yeah, I know. I remember what you did to Knuckles."

"I'm not the one who shot him in the leg, if you'll recall," said Rouge, sticking her nose in the air. "Personally, I'll take his robot version any day of the week."

"Is that a come on?" said Robo Knux. He stepped up to Rouge and curled a hand around her waist. "Hey, baby."

Rouge slapped his arm away. "Get away from me, sicko. You're only a robot."

Robo Knux winked with one metal eyelid. "So?"

Sonic cleared his throat. "Yeah! So, let's get going. And we should probably split up. You know, to look for emeralds faster."

"Sounds good to me," said Rouge. She flapped her wings, jumped off the hillside and glided out toward the ruins.


	6. Chapter 6: Unexplained

Tales of Soleanna

Story 6: Unexplained

* * *

Silver's tormented state of mind didn't let him linger at the water shrine very long. After a few minutes he rose and wandered down the street, vaguely thinking of seeing the ocean.

The Iblis Trigger's name was Sonic. He was married to a gorgeous squirrel named Sally and ran like the wind. How did someone like Sonic unleash the Flames of Disaster? Come to think of it, Silver knew nothing about the Flames. If he wasn't careful, he might unleash them himself.

Silver arrived at the waterfront with no recollection of how he'd gotten there. Instead of a washed-out rocky shoreline, the coast was a broad sandy beach, palm trees, and a boardwalk of thick, barnacle-encrusted timbers.

Silver walked along the boardwalk until he found a corner devoid of tourists. He sat on a step and watched a pair of sailboats cruise by in the distance, their red and blue sails angled to catch the wind. Nobody dared use boats in his time. The Chaos monster destroyed them.

How different the world had been in the past! Silver's heart ached under his ribs. His breath caught. The world should still look like this. But it had all been destroyed because one hedgehog released the Flames of Disaster, and the world burned. Silver dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. Control yourself, Silver. Think. What to do now?

"Here you are," said a familiar voice.

Silver looked up. Blaze sat down on the step beside him and leaned back, stretching out her long legs. "I've been looking everywhere for you. I didn't expect to find you out here." She had pulled her arms out of her coat sleeves, and left her coat clasped under her chin like a cape.

Silver smiled at her and the tension inside him relaxed. Now his brain would work again. "I've been looking all over for you, too." His smile faded as he gazed at the sailboats.

Blaze scrutinized his face. "Something happened to you."

Silver nodded. "I found the Iblis Trigger."

"Already? Did you kill him?"

"No."

Blaze blinked and waited.

Silver told her about meeting Sally and Tails, then learning the Iblis Trigger's name was Sonic. "He was just a guy, Blaze. He wasn't a monster. He didn't even try to fight back. I don't see how he could end the world like Mephiles said."

"Maybe Mephiles lied," said Blaze.

Silver stared at her, and a shard of ice pierced his insides. "You think he lied?"

"I've had all afternoon to think about it," said Blaze. She glared out at the horizon, ears flattening. "People always said the hermit who lived in the city was insane and dangerous. You saw him. He had demon eyes and no mouth. He fed you a story about changing the past, and sent us back in time. We know nothing about Mephiles. He has powers we don't understand. Yet we're trying to snuff some guy Mephiles claimed ended the world? Something doesn't add up."

This was why Silver needed Blaze. She summed things up so succinctly. He rubbed a hand through his forehead tuft. "This is what I've been trying to figure out. Especially after I saw the Iblis Trigger. He's married, Blaze. And believe me, Sally was really mad that I'd tried to take out her husband."

Blaze smirked. "Well derp, Silver."

"So ... what do we do now? We're still in the past, obviously."

"I say we gather more information," said Blaze. "We need to know more about the Flames of Disaster and Mephiles himself, if that's possible."

A strange noise in the sky made them both turn. A small aircraft flew high over the buildings, a white figure just visible in its claws.

Silver jumped up. "I don't think that's normal."

People all over the boardwalk exclaimed and pointed. From their remarks, Silver gathered that the person in white was the Princess Elise.

Blaze tapped his shoulder. "If anybody would know about world-ending cataclysms, it might be the local royalty."

"What, you mean try to rescue her?" said Silver, staring at Blaze.

The purple cat nodded with a smile. "We're the strongest chaos users of our generation. Why not?"

They ran after the hovercraft. Silver and Blaze had run two blocks when someone shouted, "Silver!"

Sally hurried across the street toward them. She wore a blue vest and boots instead of a dress, and carried a small gray box in one hand. She pointed at the ship vanishing into the distance. "Did you see that?"

"Yes," said Silver. "People said it was the Princess Elise. By the way, this is my friend Blaze, and Blaze, this is Sally."

Sally offered her hand to Blaze. "I'm glad he found you, Blaze. I don't know where Sonic is, but we can't let Robotnik take the princess like that!"

"We were going after him, actually," said Blaze. "Robotnik, you said?"

Sally nodded. "Let's go. We can talk on the way."

"Let me help," said Silver. He levitated all three of them ten feet in the air, and they flew down the street.

Sally gasped and clutched the gray box to her chest, eyes flicking from Silver to Blaze. "He does this often?"

"Unfortunately, yes," said Blaze with a wry smile. "I hate it, but it beats walking."

Silver's conscience smote him. Sally had seen him smack Sonic around with this same telekinesis. "I need to apologize," said Silver, floating Sally a few feet closer to him. "I don't understand what I've gotten myself into. Someone told me I needed to kill the Iblis Trigger and showed me a vision of your Sonic."

"I still don't understand what you're talking about," said Sally, glaring. Her expression softened. "But I forgive you."

Silver navigated them between two buildings, avoided a series of lampposts and ducked under power lines. They left the city's center behind, and office buildings gave way to clusters of houses with mature trees. Robotnik's craft was faster than Silver, and had shrank to a dot in the distance.

"Any idea where he's going?" said Silver.

Sally lifted the gray box and flipped it open. A tiny screen flashed in the sun. Silver almost flew them into a tree. "You have a handheld computer?"

"Yes, this is Nicole," said Sally. "Nicole, please calculate Dr. Robotnik's destination."

"Working, Sally," said the computer.

"It talks!" Silver exclaimed.

"Silver, just worry about flying," said Blaze. "You can gape later."

Silver frowned and flew them carefully over an estate with acres of rolling grass.

A moment later, Sally said, "Okay, it looks like there's some kind of base up in the mountains, near Kingdom Valley. Nicole's giving me all kinds of extra information. Apparently Kingdom Valley was the regular palace, and the one down here was the summer resort. But there's a technology lab up there, and something called the Solaris Project blew up the whole palace. So they moved the government's seat down here."

"What's Solaris?" said Blaze.

"Soleanna's deity," said Sally. "I think it's a sun god, but there's birds associated with it. I'm not sure."

Silver carried all three of them up into the hills, but had to stop and rest before they reached Robotnik's hideout. His grip on Sally and Blaze began to slip, and his eyes kept rolling back in his head. He landed all three of them on a patch of grass in the shade of several trees, flopped on his back and closed his eyes.

He awoke to the sensation of Blaze shaking his shoulder. "Time to get up, Silv."

The white hedgehog sat up and blinked his bleary eyes. Fog swirled in his brain. Sally and Blaze watched him anxiously, and the trees' shadows had stretched a few feet longer than when he'd laid down. "How long did I sleep?"

"We gave you an hour," said Blaze. "There's a stream over here. Sally says it's safe to drink."

Silver struggled to his feet. His arms and legs were almost too heavy to lift. Blaze led him across the grass and down a hill to a small stream that chattered over a bed of rocks. Silver knelt, pulled off his gloves, and scooped up water in both hands. Its coldness quenched a burning in his throat he hadn't noticed until that moment. The brain fog cleared. He smiled at Blaze and Sally. "Thanks."

"Does this happen often?" said Sally.

"Heck no," said Silver.

"Yes," said Blaze. "He has no sense when it comes to his powers."

Silver shot her a scowl. Couldn't she at least try to act like he was cool? He was back to trying to impress Sally. The reason why was all mixed up with her good looks, her relationship with the Iblis Trigger, and Silver's own anguish over his dead mother.

He stood up and pulled his gloves back on. "I can fly us some more."

"No!" said Sally and Blaze at the same time. "We can walk for a while," said Blaze.

As the three of them cut through the trees in search of a road, Sally pointed eastward. "There's a little train station over there. We might catch that on the way back and save the poor princess a hike."

"Good idea," said Blaze. "Does it cost money?"

Sally waved a hand. "Don't worry about money."

Half an hour later, they climbed a hill and looked down at the carnage that had been Robotnik's guard robots. Sally beamed. "Now I know where Sonic went. We may not have to rescue the princess after all."

"Do you think there'd be any records in there about the Iblis Trigger?" said Silver.

Sally nodded. "Robotnik always has records on everything. It's worth a try. If I can get Nicole to one of his consoles, she can hack in and download anything you want."

The three cautiously picked their way through the broken fence, around the piles of rubble that had been E-500s, and kept their distance from a vicious-looking dog robot with a hole torn through its torso. They climbed through a hole in the security door, and crept into Robotnik's base.

* * *

Princess Elise sat in a holding room where Robotnik had left her. It was a nice room, all things considered. There was a small bed, a table with a chair, and a tiny adjoining bathroom. But there were no windows and the door was locked. And Robotnik had committed serious blasphemy by using Solaris's own power to send Sonic, Robo Knux and the little fox through time.

Elise gazed at the ceiling and focused on the light, working through calming metal exercises. "Mighty Solaris, lend me Your strength," she whispered. "I'm wrongfully imprisoned by a madman bent on stealing Your power. What must I do?"

No answers came to her. Instead Elise felt a burning fire deep inside her. A familiar vision passed before her eyes, the Flames of Disaster erupting from under Soleanna and consuming it. And an echo of her father's last words. "Be a strong queen, Elise. And never cry, no matter what the reason."

Another voice added, "Don't you ever laugh?"

Elise opened her eyes. She forced a smile. For Sonic. Wherever he was, he'd want her to smile.

"Why are you so daring?" she'd asked him.

"Because the surest way for the bad guys to win are for the good guys to do nothing," Sonic had said. "I never do nothing."

Elise was doing nothing right now. She was sitting on the bed with her hands in her lap, being the model prisoner. Maybe it was time to do something. Even if it was only to knock over the furniture and inconvenience Robotnik a tiny bit. Elise smiled at the thought.

She rose and walked to the door. It was electronic with no door knob, only a touch panel. It was deactivated on this side. Elise laid a hand on it. Inside herself, she reached through her own quiet, like still water, to the flame that roared on the other side.

Fire erupted from her fingers and blackened the touch panel. Elise felt no heat, but smoke wafted into her eyes. She blinked and kept her hand against the door. The plastic warped and her hand melted through. She dug a finger under the door's catch and forced it upward.

The door clicked. Elise pulled her hand away and closed her eyes. "Thank you, mighty Solaris, for the gift of your fire. Please help me control it now."

Slowly the flame ebbed and vanished back into her hand. Elise laid both hands on the door and slid it sideways. It rolled on its bearings and opened just enough for her to step outside. Elise stepped into the hallway. Which way was the exit? She chose left and started walking.

Elise had nearly reached the door at the end of the hall when it opened. She gasped and half crouched, ready to run back to her cell. Instead of robots, two female Mobians stepped through, a purple cat and a fawn-colored squirrel. They stared at Elise in surprise. "Princess?" said the squirrel. "We were on our way to rescue you!"

Rescuers! Elise couldn't hold back a smile, even as a tiny voice inside her disapproved at this display of emotion. "A friend told me that bad guys only win when good guys do nothing. So I'm trying to escape."

"Good for you!" said the cat. "Come on, this way."

The cat and squirrel took Elise's hands. They peered around corners and hid in doorways while robot patrols passed by. Elise's heart pounded with the tension, but something about it was tremendous fun, too.

At last the cat opened a door and they stepped out into daylight. Elise looked around at the shape of the hills and enormous cedars. "This is near my father's old laboratory!"

"I imagine Robotnik commandeered it," said the squirrel. "Over here, out of sight. We need to wait for Silver."

The mobians led Elise up a hill and behind a rock outcrop. Elise sat on a rock and turned her face to the sun, seeking peace. When her heart stopped pounding, she looked at the squirrel and cat. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I didn't catch your names."

"I'm Blaze," said the cat, shaking Elise's hand.

"I'm Sally," said the squirrel. "Formerly Princess Sally Acorn of Mobitropolis."

"Mobitropolis?" said Elise, eyes widening. "How did you survive the coup?"

"Mostly because of Sonic," said Sally, with a faraway look in her eyes. "We both owe him a lot."

"Yes, we do," said Elise.

Blaze climbed halfway up the rock outcrop and peered over the top, ears flattened to her head. The tip of her tail twitched. "There's Silver," she murmured. "He's coming."

Elise rose to her feet as a white hedgehog hurried into sight. Her heart skipped. The white hedgehog from the day her father died! She pressed a hand to her lips to stifle a cry.

Silver saw her and held out the blue chaos emerald. "I got it back for you, Princess!"

Elise had to clear her throat before she could speak. "Are you ... any relation to Sonic?"

"Heh, no," said Silver. "I'm from ..." His eyes shifted to Blaze. "...a long ways away."

"Keep the gem for now," said Elise. "Robotnik doesn't know about you and he might not find it so quickly."

"Come on, let's get moving," said Sally. "The longer we stay here, the more likely Robotnik is to track us down once he finds Elise is missing."

The four of them climbed the hill, deeper into the trees, and followed the ridge away from the underground base. As her prison disappeared from sight, Elise's heart lightened. She hadn't hiked in the woods in a long time. Her shoes were only light sandals and improper for the rough ground in the forest, but she watched her footing and said nothing. All three Mobians wore boots. Maybe Elise should invest in some dressy boots, herself.

"So," said Silver, breaking the silence, "did you find anything about the Flames of Disaster?"

"Yes, actually," said Sally. "I'm afraid it's all classified, though. Only Soleanna royalty is allowed to know all this." She nodded to Elise and handed her a pocket computer.

Elise peered at the screen. "The Solaris project? This is all my father's research. Where did you get this?"

"It was in Robotnik's files," said Sally. "Silver and Blaze need to know about the Flames of Disaster, and something called the Iblis Trigger."

"I don't know about the Iblis Trigger," said Elise in a low voice. "But I do know about the Flames of Disaster."

They reached the ridge's crest and followed it southward. The trees were thinner here, and a welcome breeze stirred the warm summer air. Elise tried not to stare at Silver's white spines. How could she remember him when he came from far away? It was like meeting one of her daydreams in the flesh. And she'd thought Sonic was the hedgehog she'd seen ...

"The Flames of Disaster are part of our god Solaris," said Elise. "They are an aspect of his wrath. They were accidentally released during the failure of the Solaris Project, and destroyed everything in Kingdom Valley. But they were sealed away and concealed to this day."

"So where are they now?" said Silver.

Elise said nothing.

"Sonic is supposedly who unleashes them," said Blaze. "But I don't know how he'd do it. We don't even know where they're kept or why he'd want to."

Elise bit her lip. Sonic? Really? She tried to smile and hide the dread that sank into her stomach.

"Yes," said a strange voice. "Sonic is the Iblis Trigger."

They turned to see a black hedgehog walking through the trees toward them. "Shadow?" said Sally. She backed away a step. "No ... you're not Shadow."

The black hedgehog moved with slow lurching steps, hands at his sides, back not quite straight. He moved like an animated corpse in a movie Elise had seen once. She shielded herself with both arms, and watched the creature's approach.

"I am Mephiles," said the creature. He halted and lifted one arm, hand dangling at the wrist. Slowly his wrist straightened until one finger pointed at Silver. "Silver, we had an agreement. I would send you back in time and you would destroy the Iblis Trigger."

Silver covered a spot on his chest and opened his mouth. "I tried, but-"

"You're the one!" exclaimed Sally. She marched up to Mephiles and slapped him across the face. "How dare you send someone to kill Sonic!"

Mephiles's head whipped sideways from the force of the blow. He stood there, head turned, and his shoulders shook with laughter. Sally backed away from him, eyes widening.

Elise stared at Mephiles. Where was his mouth?

"Sally Acorn," said Mephiles, his head turning toward her slowly, like a puppet on a string. "I know all about you. Careful, lest I require your soul of you as I do Silver's."

Elise glanced at Silver with a jolt of horror. Silver shrank a little, his fur slicking tight to his body, ears flattening. "My soul?"

But Mephiles's attention shifted to Elise. "And you, dear Princess Elise the third." He walked toward her and stared into her eyes. Elise met his green eyes and something in her connected with Mephiles. He was more than a demon. Somehow, his darkness was a part of her. Why couldn't she run away? Worse, why didn't she want to?

Mephiles lifted a hand to her, palm upward. "You feel it, Elise. You know my secret, because it's yours. We are both the splintered aspects of the Divine."

Fury flashed through Elise and she pushed his hand away. "You speak blasphemy against Solaris. He is holy fire and you are darkness."

"Perhaps," said Mephiles very softly, "you are mistaken about your god."

As Elise bit her tongue to keep from replying, Mephiles turned to Silver again. "If you wish to change your future, destroy the Iblis Trigger. If you do not kill him, your world remains the same. Nothing worse can possibly happen to it than has already happened."

Mephiles dissolved into black smoke that wafted away through the trees, always keeping to the shadows. The group watched him go.

Blaze spoke first. "Come on, everybody. I can see the train station. We'll ride back into town."

As they descended the hill through the trees, Sally said to Silver, "What did he mean he requires your soul?"

"I don't know," said Silver. "But look." He pointed at a black smudge on his chest fur. "It's bigger than it was. It's like an acid burn. It keeps spreading. He gave it to me."

"Mephiles is the embodiment of evil," said Elise through her teeth. "I refuse to believe he has any part in Solaris's goodness."

"I'm the only one he ignored," said Blaze. "I wonder why?"

"Maybe because you didn't antagonize him," said Sally with a wry smile.

Blaze shook her head. "He ignored me back in our time, too. Remember, Silver? He only ever spoke to you."

"Maybe he's afraid of you," said Silver. "Lots of other people are."

Blaze smiled and said nothing.

A little later they arrived on the train platform, where a mixed-car train was waiting. Two passenger cars sat behind the engine, followed by a long string of oil tankers. Sally paid their fare, and all four of them climbed aboard and claimed a compartment. There were no other passengers.

None of them saw Robotnik quietly step aboard the engine and force the driver out. They only felt the train begin to move, and sighed with relief that they weren't walking all the way back to town.


	7. Chapter 7: Unscathed

Tales of Soleanna By K.M. Carroll

Story 7: Unscathed

* * *

"Man, I can't believe this is Soleanna," said Sonic. He swept both arms at the ruins around them. "I mean, look at it!"

"I'm looking at these canyons," said Tails.

They stood at the bottom of a canyon as wide as a freeway and twenty feet deep. Ruined buildings lined the canyon walls, rotted hulks of metal and stone. The ground was strewn with lumps of concrete and fine beach sand. Tails knelt and scooped up the sand, letting it trickle through his fingers. "I don't like this, Sonic. It's like the places floods all the time."

"Maybe it rains?" said Robo Knux, jerking his head at the sullen sky.

"Either way, let's get to higher ground," said Sonic as his spines bristled. He dashed at the canyon wall and ran straight up it, caught a broken girder that hung over the edge, and pulled himself up. Tails spun his tails and flew after him. Robo Knux pulsed his jets and followed.

"You sure there's a chaos emerald around here?" said Sonic.

"Positive," said Robo Knux. "I was trying to gather them all for a while and I still have the software. It's about half a mile away." He pointed toward the red glow in the distance. "That way."

They picked their way through mounds of concrete, crushed wallboard and jagged metal struts.

"So," said Tails, "what's on fire, anyway?"

"Fire," said Robo Knux. "My sensors white out over there. Probably an open volcano vent."

Sonic cast a look at the robot's downcast posture. "I thought you always wanted to watch the world burn."

"It's no fun if I'm not responsible." Robo Knux's green eyes flicked to Sonic's face, then away. "There's nobody around here to terrorize except you sissies. No fun at all." He halted and held up a hand. "Wait a minute. I'm picking up someone else."

Sonic and Tails waited, watching Robo Knux. "What if it's mutants?" whispered Tails. "You know, like in The Day Without Dawn, where everybody nuked everybody and there was all the atomic fallout?"

"That's just a dumb movie," Sonic whispered. "Real mutants would have chaos powers, too."

Tails gulped.

"Over here," said Robo Knux. He scrambled across a mound of rubble to a half-fallen building and heaved a cement slab aside. Beyond it stood a broken door. A hallway beyond it lead into darkness.

"Ruined building, very dangerous," said Sonic. "You go first."

Robo Knux rolled his eyes, but ducked into the hallway. Sonic and Tails followed.

The hallway ended in a flight of stairs. They plunged down three flights, dusty but intact. A greenish light shone up from below, as if electric lights still operated somewhere.

They reached the bottom floor, and followed Robo Knux down another passage. Sonic's fur prickled at the sight of Robo Knux walking slowly, cat-like, without a sound. He must have padded soles to move like that. What was scarier, Robo Knux hunting, or Robo Knux acting sane?

Definitely the latter.

Robo Knux reached a doorway, froze and beckoned with one hand. Sonic and Tails hurried up on tiptoe, and peered inside.

Inside was a room with three computer screens, like in Robotnik's base. Inside was a purple cat, the white hedgehog who had attacked Sonic, and a black hedgehog in a robe. The black and white hedgehogs were talking, while the purple cat stood back a pace, arms folded.

"I am Mephiles," said the black hedgehog. "Pay attention, Silver. The Flames were unleashed by the one known as the Iblis Trigger."

Silver squinted at the black hedgehog, then shifted his weight backward without actually backing away. "Uh, yeah, Iblis Trigger. Who was it?"

Mephiles held out the purple chaos emerald. "Gaze deep into the chaos emerald, Silver. See your enemy."

Sonic pointed at the emerald and raised an eyebrow at Robo Knux. The robot shook his head. He wasn't tracking that one.

Sonic frowned as Silver clutched the emerald and stared into it. Silver was using Chaos Sight without even knowing it. The emerald might show him anything. Besides, that black hedgehog gave off really weird vibes. He sort of looked like Shadow, except for the green eyes. Maybe he was some descendant of Shadow's.

"I see a blue hedgehog," said Silver.

Sonic's hands curled into fists. So this was why that white hedgehog had tried to kill him! The weird black hedgehog had set him up.

Silver turned to the purple cat and begged her to accompany him to the future. She sighed, turned her head and met Sonic's eyes.

Sonic backed out of sight with a jolt of panic. Tails and Robo Knux flattened themselves on either side of the doorway. Had Sonic just ruined the future?

But no. A blast of chaos energy laden with electricity rolled out of the room, exactly like the blast Robotnik had used to transport them.

"They're gone," said Robo Knux.

Sonic and Tails peeked inside. The room was empty. "The cat looked straight at me," said Sonic. "Did she say anything?"

"Nope," said Robo Knux. "She agreed to time travel and off they went. Say, since this is the future, do you think they're already in our time?"

Sonic stepped into the room. "Yep. Silver already tried to kill me once."

Robo Knux and Tails followed him. "He did?" said Robo Knux. "And I missed it? What happened?"

"I was there," said Tails through his teeth.

"You?" said Robo Knux, flashing Tails a scornful look. "What'd you do, distract him with your tails?"

Tails's eyes matched Robo Knux's scorn. "I'm a kitsune, dingbot. I made an illusion of a dinosaur and sent it after him. He ran for his life."

Sonic studied the computer screens. "Look at this, guys. This Flames of Disaster stuff. It happens, like, three days after the Festival of the Flame! A volcano erupted right under Soleanna's business district. Princess Elise died first." Sonic's voice dropped to nothing and his spines drooped. "Wow, this sucks. And I'm supposed to be the one who sets this off?"

"Dude, you totally need to find out how," said Robo Knux, punching buttons. "I want to be there! Except for the part about Elise. She can't die."

Sonic blinked at Robo Knux. "Wait, did you just say that there's one person on the planet you don't want to kill?"

Robo Knux looked at Sonic and his hands froze on the keys. They stood there, staring at each other without moving a muscle.

"What?" said Sonic.

"I love her," said Robo Knux.

Sonic shot Tails an incredulous look, and folded his arms. "RK, I hate to break it to you, but you're a robot. Robots can't love anybody."

Robo Knux stood still for a long moment without speaking. Finally he said, "I just tried to kill you and the shell kicked in. I'm leaving." He turned and stalked out of the room.

Tails watched him go. "Sonic, I think he's serious."

Sonic scratched his head. "You know ... I think so, too. I've never seen RK act like that in my life."

* * *

"Well, this thing's not going anywhere," said Shadow.

Shadow, Rouge and Nox stood beside a collapsed building. It had fallen in such a way that its walls formed three sides of a small sheltered courtyard, with almost no debris cluttering it. In this space lay a robot.

It had an egg-shaped body with a narrow pelvis. Its arms attached to the body in enormous shoulder joints that housed missile pods. Its legs were shorter than the typical Robotnik design, thick and strong. The letters "E-123 Omega" gleamed on its chest under a thick layer of dust. Its eyes glowed a dim red.

Shadow had picked up the robot's signal, and they'd detoured to investigate it. Shadow rapped his knuckles on the flat metal head. "I can't get through. He says he's in standby and will awaken on a timer."

"Am I in there?" said Nox. Once again in his lanky bird form, he gazed at the robot with misty eyes. "Omega was my robot."

Shadow leaned his head close to Omega's red eyes for a second. "Nope, no pilot registered. Good thing, because you'd be dead."

"How strange," said Rouge, brushing dust from the robot's chest. "How many Omegas were there?"

"At least two," said Shadow. "The last of the E-100s and extremely lethal. Who knows how this one got here?"

Rouge smiled and trailed a finger down Nox's back. "You remember dancing in the fire?"

"Trapped in this machine, yes," said Nox. "Ah, those were the days. Remember all the stuff I blew up?"

They left the courtyard and made their way down a fractured street toward the red light in the city's center. Rouge's spirits flagged. All this devastation, and not a living soul anywhere. What a dismal future. Was the rest of the world this way?

They turned a corner and heat scorched their faces. Rouge threw up both arms. "Goodness!"

A fissure lay across their path, slicing through the road and several buildings. Heat radiated out of it, making the air shimmer. Orange lava bubbled beneath a black crust.

Nox looked over the edge, unaffected by the heat. "Nobody fall in."

"You think?" said Shadow. "Come on, this way." He led the way along the fissure's edge toward the fire's heart.

"And why are we going toward the volcano?" said Rouge. Admittedly, the heat felt good after walking so long through the chill of the dead city.

"To see what's causing it," said Shadow. "If it's a volcano, fine. But it might be something else. Mephiles was awfully happy about sending us here."

Rouge watched her footing for a while. Many cracks snaked away from the fissure, and slabs of pavement shifted as Rouge set foot on them. This whole city was a death trap. She hadn't even seen any skeletons, but after two hundred years, there probably wasn't much left. It was amazing so many buildings were intact, really. Maybe it was the obscene amounts of chaos energy in the area.

The light increased suddenly, and Rouge looked up. A dozen yards ahead, the fissure joined the central caldera, which seethed with lava a few feet below the level of the road, bubbles bursting and throwing globs of burning rock five stories high.

Shadow stood on the edge, one arm raised to shield his face from the scorching heat. Nox stood beside him. Shadow backed away several steps, shaking his head. "Too hot."

"There's something alive in there," said Nox. He stretched his neck out over the edge, and flames licked at the edges of his feathers without catching.

"Should he do that?" said Rouge, heart skipping. It was all too easy to imagine the chao-bird slipping over the edge to burn to death in the lava.

"He's fireproof," said Shadow with a half-smile. "Lava would only slow him down a little."

Nox screamed. Shadow and Rouge jumped. Nox stood with wings upraised and tail fanned out, and screamed like a peacock. His cries echoed across the caldera.

"Shut him up!" said Rouge. A horrible sense struck her that they must not disturb the lava, or something might notice them.

Shadow ran to Nox, scooped him up in both arms and ran back with him. Nox shrieked again, and Shadow smacked his beak. "Shut up!"

The lava groaned. Rouge gasped as something rose out of the lava with glowing mud cascading off it. First a long blackened spike emerged, then a head with blinking green eyes, then a massive lava body covered in stone spikes like armor. It reared above them and roared loud enough to collapse three buildings. Rouge clapped her hands to her ears.

"Shadow," said Nox, head sinking to rest on Shadow's shoulder. "Shadow, where are you? I'm lost. I can't get back."

Shadow swore. He dug two fingers into Nox's mouth and forced out the chaos emerald. Nox shrank back into a chao, and Shadow shoved him into Rouge's arms. "Get him out of here."

"What about you?" said Rouge, watching Shadow shift the orange emerald from his living hand to his robot hand and back.

"I'm the distraction," said Shadow with a grin. Then he vanished.

Rouge fled the lava monster, fluttering her wings to clear the most treacherous spots. Nox lay in the crook of her arm, eyes wide. "Snap out of it, Nox," Rouge said.

Nox's mouth moved, but no sound came out.

Behind them, the monster moved and something crashed with a screech of metal. Oh, please let Shadow have escaped that.

She turned a corner and glimpsed Sonic running the other way. He smiled in recognition, then blew past in a gust of chilly wind. Rouge skidded to a stop. "No, Sonic!" But the blue hedgehog was already gone.

"Rouge?"

Tails and Robo Knux hurried up to her. "What's going on?" said Tails.

"A lava monster," said Rouge. "It hurt Nox somehow." She stroked Nox's head, but he continued to stare at nothing.

"Lava?" said Robo Knux. "This I gotta see." He ignited his jets and shot skyward.

Tails rubbed Nox's paws. "I bet Shadow's ticked off."

"He's fighting the monster, yes."

"Can I take Nox?"

Rouge passed the limp chao to Tails, who cradled and stroked him. "Poor Nox. You're with Tails and Rouge now. Can you hear us?"

Nox didn't respond.

The monster roared in the distance. Somewhere overhead, Robo Knux laughed.

Tails sat down on a chunk of asphalt and laid Nox on his knees. His ears flattened as he held his hands over Nox, and after a moment, blue light flickered out of his palms.

"What on Mobius are you doing?" said Rouge. She paced back and forth, expecting a wave of lava to crash through the ruins any second. Why hadn't she stayed to help Shadow and Sonic? But what could anybody do against an eight-story monster made of molten rock?

Tails didn't answer. He placed a hand over each of Nox's eyes, and light welled out from between his fingers.

Nox made a strange, shivering whine. Tails pulled his hands away, and the chao blinked up at him. "There," said Tails, beaming. "That brought you back, didn't it?"

Rouge knelt beside them. "Nox, are you all right?"

Nox sat up and looked around. "Hi Tails, hi Rouge. Where's Shadow?"

"He's fighting the monster."

Nox leaped off Tails's lap, hit the pavement, then realized he wasn't a bird anymore. "Where's my chaos emerald?"

"Shadow took it," Rouge said.

"No!" Nox cried. "I touched the monster's mind and it sucked me in. His name is Iblis. He's trapped and he hates everything. He'll kill Shadow!"

Rouge scooped up Nox again. "Sonic's helping him, don't worry."

Nox sat in her arms, staring toward the noises of battle, tiny ears pricked. Rouge looked at Tails. "How'd you heal him, anyway?"

"Oh," said Tails, looking down, "I didn't heal him. I just gave him some of my life force. Kitsunes can move their life force around, and I had the idea that he needed a little to bring him back."

Robo Knux's jets roared overhead, and he slammed to the ground a short distance away. "They're coming back now. Get ready to run."

Shadow and Sonic appeared in two sparkles of light, Shadow gripping the orange chaos emerald and Sonic the green. "No, I had it first," Sonic snapped, spines bristling.

"I'm the Ultimate Lifeform," snarled Shadow. "I should possess the ruling green."

"Boys," said Rouge, pointing as a glob of lava the size of a boxcar punched through a heap of rubble and set it on fire. "You need to do this elsewhere."

Sonic grabbed Tails and Robo Knux, and teleported. Shadow grabbed Rouge's shoulder and followed.

They reappeared on the ridge above the city near Robotnik's base. Shadow turned his back on Sonic and picked up Nox. "Are you okay?" Shadow whispered.

Nox nodded. "Tails helped me. Can we go home now?"

Rouge watched their exchange, but said nothing. For a second, she'd seen a tender look on Shadow's face as he stroked his chao's head. Shadow was capable of emotion. Rouge's heart warmed a few more degrees toward Shadow.

But the moment passed. Shadow turned to Sonic. "For this to work, we have to be synchronized. Form a chain."

"I was about to say that," said Sonic through his teeth. But everyone laid a hand on the nearest person's shoulder or back. Sonic and Shadow stood at the center, and locked hands as if about to arm wrestle. They glared at each other for a second. Then they nodded and said in unison, "Chaos control!"

The world froze around them. Shadow counted to three under his breath, then he and Sonic said, "Chaos shift!"

Reality shattered.

Rouge gasped. Shining fragments of the world floated past like broken glass, most showing views of the ruined city.

"Wait," said Shadow. "Nobody move."

The shards floated wider and wider apart, and new shards appeared. Jumbled scenes from their lives drifted by, past and future, spinning and shining.

"There," said Sonic. "There's some from the Festival of the Flame."

"Close enough," said Shadow.

Sonic, Tails and Robo Knux touched the shard and vanished into it. Rouge fluttered toward it, but hesitated. Shadow hovered beside a shard of the ruined future-city, gazing into it. "Shadow?"

He waved a hand at her. "Go on. I'll catch up."

Rouge touched the shard, fell through and barely saved herself from landing face-first on pavement.

The orange chaos emerald plinked to the ground beside her. Rouge picked it up, then climbed to her feet. "Shadow?"

She stood on a quiet street in Soleanna, surrounded by houses built of yellow stone. Sonic and the others must have landed elsewhere, because they were nowhere in sight. Neither was Shadow.

Rouge looked at the emerald, eyes widening. "He's stranded back there." She flared her wings and walked in a circle. How could she help someone two hundred years in the future, on the far side of a catastrophe? She'd have to hide the emerald somewhere Shadow could find it and get a message to him somehow. But how? She needed a time capsule or ...

A time capsule. Rouge stood still and grinned at nothing. Of course.

She touched the communicator in her ear. "Rouge the Bat here."

"Acknowledge," said her handler.

"What's the date?" said Rouge.

"June fourth, Sunday evening," said her handler.

Rouge nodded. She'd returned to the proper time. "Thanks. Now, what can you tell me about a robot called E-123 Omega?"


	8. Chapter 8: Unconcerned

Tales of Soleanna By K.M. Carroll

Story 8: Unconcerned

* * *

Shadow stepped back onto the cold pavement of the ruined future city. Mephiles stood a few feet away, arms crossed, watching him.

Heat swept through Shadow's body. "You."

Mephiles nodded. "Yes. Me. How nice to see you again, Shadow."

Shadow pointed at him. "I want answers, demon. Did you ruin our world?"

Mephiles's eyes narrowed in what would have been a smile had he possessed a mouth. "Yes." Then he turned his head. "And no."

Shadow ground his teeth. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Perhaps it's better if I show you," Mephiles said. He held up a hand and a ball of purple energy crackled to life above it. He tossed the ball at a nearby wall, which opened in a portal. Behind the portal was a dark room in some unguessable location. Inside the room ...

Shadow zoomed in his mechanical eye. Inside the room was a strange-looking cryo chamber. Shadow himself lay inside it, but spread-eagled, his arms and legs held by four separate pipes. Chaos energy crackled inside the chamber like bottled lightning.

"What is this, some kind of illusion?" said Shadow.

Mephiles shook his head. "No. After the Flames of Disaster devastated the world, who do you think they blamed?" He pointed at the Shadow in the cryo chamber. "Humans and Mobians alike have always feared you, Shadow. The Disaster gave them they excuse they needed to hunt you down. There you lie, a perpetual battery for one of their cities. You cannot die, after all."

Shadow's stomach twisted in a sickening knot. To Maria in his head, he said, "Do you think it's true?"

"Odds are probable," said Maria softly. She hung in his peripheral vision to his left, a blue and white ghost. "In this wretched future, every awful thing has come to pass."

Shadow gazed at his future self and his shoulders slumped. His future. After all he had gone through, his life still ended in a cryogenic chamber.

On Shadow's shoulder, Nox squeezed him and burrowed his head against Shadow's neck. "They'll have to kill me first."

Shadow half-smiled and stroked Nox's head.

This was not the reaction Mephiles wanted. He held out a hand. "Why hesitate? Join me and we'll punish the people holding you hostage. There will be vengeance and justice at last!"

"No," said Shadow.

Mephiles jerked his hand away and straightened. "You would forgive them their crime against you?"

Shadow drew a breath and straightened. "I set my own future. You're trying to control me with fear and it's not going to work." He bowed his head and clenched his fists, spines bristling. "No one is ever controlling me again."

Mephiles and Shadow stared at one another for a long moment. Then Mephiles stiffened and a burst of chaos energy exploded out of him. Mephiles's gray and black body crystallized, the hedgehog shape dissolving into a distorted caricature. Only the eyes stayed the same, glowing green demon irises with blood-colored whites.

"Then you shall amuse me a while before you die," said Mephiles.

That was when Shadow missed his chaos emerald.

* * *

In the ruins of Soleanna, E-123 Omega's red eyes flickered to life. The robot's limbs stirred, then he hoisted himself to his feet. Appropriate date reached. Commencing Operation Shadow Support.

Omega scanned the city and detected a life form with Shadow's signature five hundred feet to the southeast. He pushed his way out of the collapsed building and ran that way, feet clanging on the broken pavement.

* * *

Mephiles floated fifteen feet in the air. The dimness around them darkened even more, and a million small shadows crept out of the cracks and flocked around Mephiles like birds.

"Hang tight, Nox," said Shadow. To Maria he added, "Are those things corporeal?"

Maria scanned the nearest shape. "Yes, somewhat. What are you planning?"

"Scan my chaos field while I do this," said Shadow. He ran at the nearest shape, curled into a ball and slashed through it.

"It slightly increased your chaos field's power, Shadow," said Maria. She pursed her lips, hiding a smile. "I know what you're thinking now."

Nox's claws sank through Shadow's fur into his skin, and he burrowed tight to Shadow's neck. Good. Shadow didn't want to fling him off. Shadow ran, curled into a ball, and slashed through the cloud of tiny shades.

"Your actions are futile," said Mephiles, floating out of reach. "You're fighting shadows. But I suppose that's what you're good at, isn't it?"

Maria whispered in Shadow's head, "About five hundred more, Shadow dear."

Shadow kept tearing apart the shades, but more appeared. Some of them clung to him like soft blankets, hampering his movements.

Mephiles laughed overhead. "I considered taking your soul, but I already have half of it. I don't need the rest. Or didn't you know that?"

Shadow grimly slashed through more shades and shook off the ones clinging to him. Mephiles must mean taking Shadow's shadow.

"I know everything, Shadow," said Mephiles. "You can't defeat me. I took the blackness in your soul when it was cast into the Dark."

Shadow spun to a halt and knelt, panting. No. It couldn't be. His throat constricted and he massaged his neck, trying not to choke. Mekion was dead and gone. Shadow never had to face his madness again. Right?

"Maria," he said in his head, "say it's not true."

"Shadow, I ... don't know. He might be telling the truth."

Shadow looked up at Mephiles hovering overhead, a crystalline hedgehog-demon. When in doubt, fake an attitude. "So ... should I call you Mephiles, or Mekion?"

Mephiles laughed. "Without a doubt, I am Mephiles. But I swallowed Mekion when he fell into my Dark. I took his memories, his information, his hatred of you. All those things belong to me now. Here, take this as a gift from Mekion."

Mephiles flung a ball of darkness into Shadow's face. Shadow flew backward fifteen feet, hit a wall and felt several things crunch. He caught himself with his robot leg as he fell, but his living leg seared with pain. His living arm hung useless.

Nox fell off Shadow's shoulder and lay in a senseless lump at Shadow's feet. Shadow scooped him up with his robot arm.

"Damage report," said Maria. "Your pelvis is fractured. Your right shoulder blade is cracked in three places, as well as your collarbone. Your whole shoulder is mush."

Shadow watched Mephiles drift toward him. "Maria, how long until the nanites repair me?"

"Two point three hours."

"Too long!" Shadow tried to take a step and sank to one knee instead. "Options, Maria."

Bullets tore through the concrete a foot ahead of Mephiles. Mephiles halted and turned.

"It seems there's a third option," said Maria.

Omega clanked toward them, one arm raised and gatling gun still spinning. "Stand down, monster. I am here to support Shadow."

Mephiles whisked back into the air with a laugh. "A robot? Are you kidding me? I'll destroy you with a touch." He pointed at Omega with a crystal-spike finger. A million fluttering shades swarmed over Omega, covering him in blackness.

"So much for that," Shadow murmured, ears flattening.

Lightning crackled through the shades, and hundreds of them swirled away into nothing. Omega reappeared, his entire body wreathed in dancing white bolts of lightning. When the last shade had fallen, the lightning vanished. He trained his gun on Mephiles. "Now we'll see if you can die."

Shadow winced as the gatling gun chattered, tearing chunks out of the surrounding rubble as Mephiles dodged and Omega kept firing. Some bullets found their target, and Mephiles grunted.

Mephiles swooped at Omega and fired a shadow ball straight into his midsection. Omega staggered back, caught himself and resumed firing.

"Impossible!" Mephiles roared.

In Shadow's ear, Maria whispered, "Mephiles's power only works on mortals. A nonliving robot confounds him."

"It's still chaos power," Shadow replied in his head. "It won't be long before Mephiles figures out chaos power cooks electronics."

Maria displayed a graph showing Shadow's chaos aura's energy level. "You have enough power for a small chaos blast, if you can get close enough to Mephiles."

"Omega, hold your fire!" Shadow yelled.

Omega stopped firing, but kept tracking Mephiles as he swooped overhead like a deranged firefly. "Oh yes," said Omega. A panel opened in his chest. He reached inside, pulled out the orange chaos emerald, and held it out to Shadow.

Shadow snatched it up and laughed. "Now we're in business!" The chaos power soaked into his body, guided by his strange hybrid cells and nanites, all of which fed on chaos power. His bones knit with a series of pops, and Shadow rolled his shoulder to loosen up the muscles. Then he dashed after Mephiles, jumped in the air and yelled, "Chaos blast!"

A wave of burning chaos power erupted outward from the chaos emerald, blasting through Shadow's body and Nox's, too. Nox's eyes flew open in delight, and for a second his black chao body caught fire and burned gold.

The power tore through Mephiles and knocked him out of the air. He crashed to the ground, crystal fragments shattering off his extremities.

Omega stood still and took the blast, only shielding his eyes with one arm. Once the wave passed, Omega waved to Shadow. "Chaos shielding for the win."

Nox peered over Shadow's arm. "Omega! But he talks just like me!"

"Hush," said Shadow, gripping the chaos emerald. Mephiles struggled to rise and staggered on the crystalline stumps that passed for his feet. He glared at Shadow and summoned a purple ball sparking with lightning. But instead of hurling it at them, he held it at arms length and let it grow like an inflating balloon.

"Omega, quick, this way!" Shadow said. He ran for the globe just as it enveloped Mephiles, who vanished. Shadow plunged into it, and Omega's feet clanged behind him as the robot followed. Electrical darkness swallowed him for a second.

As Shadow landed, he noticed two things. First, the pavement was warm. Second, the light was so bright, his living eye saw only whiteness. His robot eye adjusted instantly. Shadow's scans revealed present-day Soleanna all around. He'd returned safely from the cursed future, and the world was wonderful.

Omega walked up beside him. "We seem to have journeyed to a past time."

"Yes, that's Mephiles's thing," said Shadow, straightening up. He squinted at Nox, who shielded his face with a paw. "Are you all right?"

"I am now," said Nox. "You know how I love your fire moves."

Shadow grinned.

Something clicked nearby. Shadow turned and froze. Three of Robotnik's E-500 robots stood there, all with guns covering them. "Surrender, Mephiles," said one.

"Hey Omega," said Shadow. "Do you still have a vendetta against Robotnik?"

Omega stood motionless for a moment. His head slowly turned toward the other robots. Then the missile pod in his right shoulder opened and fired three rockets, blowing the head off each robot.

As they collapsed to the ground, Omega snarled, "Worthless consumer models."

Shadow set Nox down and handed him the chaos emerald. As Nox grew to his long-legged phoenix form, Shadow said, "Now why is Robotnik hunting Mephiles?"

"He already had Mephiles," said Nox. "You're the one who let him out."

"You mean we let him out," said Rouge. She fluttered to the ground and kicked a robot's arm out of her way. "Nice to see you guys again. I see my idea about using Omega as a time capsule worked beautifully."

"Yeah, yeah, grats to you," said Shadow. "Where's Robotnik now?"

"Hijacking a train last I checked," said Rouge.

Shadow grinned. "I guess it's time for a counter-hijack."

Rouge winked at him. "Whatever you say, Shadow."

* * *

"Oh man, it's good to be back," said Sonic.

"I know!" said Tails, throwing his head back and inhaling. "There's no trees left in the future."

Robo Knux said nothing. He stalked along behind them, head down. The three had reappeared outside Robotnik's base, and were hiking back to Soleanna.

"I still don't get how I'm the Iblis Trigger," said Sonic. "Do I look like I have the power to make volcanoes erupt in the middle of cities?"

"Yes," said Tails and Robo Knux in unison.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Okay, I do have more chaos power than the Floating Island in a hurricane. But it's not like I'm gonna use any of it! I'd need all seven emeralds to start with. I've only got one." He tossed the green emerald in the air and caught it.

They walked out of the trees and looked across the rolling hills to Soleanna, nestled against the distant hills, open to the ocean on the west side. A train track curved toward it, appearing and disappearing through the clumps of trees. A freight train crawled along it.

"That'd be fun to blow up," said Robo Knux.

"Don't try it," said Sonic. "Or I'll have to blow you up."

"Try it, hedgehog," said Robo Knux. "I don't think the shell would keep me from holding up my ... claws ..." He trailed off, staring at the train.

"What?" said Sonic.

Robo Knux pointed. "Seventeen cars, two passenger cars behind the engine. Passengers are a hedgehog, a cat, a squirrel, and Princess Elise. Dr. Robotnik is driving."

Sonic said nothing, but his spines bristled.

"The squirrel is Sally, I think," said Robo Knux. He flashed Sonic a sidelong look. "Race you there."

Sonic shot away down the hill, leaving a rooster-tail of dust in his wake. Robo Knux leaped into the air, fired his jets, and flew after him, overtaking Sonic as Sonic slowed to avoid trees.

Tails shook his head and spun his tails. "Here we go again."

* * *

In the train, Blaze sat with her chin cupped in one hand, gazing out the window. Beside her, Sally said, "So that's how the moon's pull causes tides, Silver. Every few months there are harmonic tides when the major and minor moons align, but they haven't been as extreme since Robotnik blew a chunk out of the major moon."

"I never knew we had moons," said Silver, gazing at Sally, wide-eyed.

Elise pulled out a small video phone and handed it to Silver. "Here are some pictures of the night sky."

Silver levitated the phone into his hand and gazed at the picture. "Amazing! It's so pretty! What are all those little dots?"

"Those are stars," said Sally with a laugh. "They're suns, but millions of miles away."

"Guys," said Blaze.

Nobody paid her any attention. "Certain times of the year, there's meteor showers," said Elise. "It looks like the stars are falling in long streaks."

"Guys," said Blaze. "Somebody's shooting at us."

Elise, Silver and Sally straightened. Silver scrambled to the window and peered out. "Where? I'll hit them with a tree."

"I can't see," said Blaze. "All I know is-"

The train jerked and its brakes screeched. All four of them slipped off the seats and bashed into each other on the floor.

"Okay, that's it," said Silver, rubbing his head. "I'm going out to see what's going on."

"I'm going with you," said Blaze. She turned to Sally and Elise, ears flattening. "Will you two be all right?"

Sally crawled to her feet and helped up Elise. "If the train slows, I'll see if we can jump off."

Blaze nodded and hurried after Silver, who had already opened the door at the far end of the car. They stepped out onto a little balcony encircled by chest-high railings. Their view behind them was blocked by the next train car a few feet away. It was a boxcar, with no access door.

Silver grinned at Blaze and levitated both of them toward the boxcar's roof.

* * *

Omega had folded down his legs and set his compact wheels against the train tracks. Now he rolled along the tracks in the freight train's wake with Shadow and Rouge riding on his shoulders. Nox clung to Shadow's shoulder and laughed into the wind.

"Just like old times!" Rouge shouted.

"No, nothing like old times," said Shadow, knowing nobody could hear him. "Because Mekion's not the one driving." He pointed at the rear car. "Omega, blow up that boxcar. Maybe Robotnik will stop the train."

Omega's rocket pods clicked open. Five orange missiles whooshed out and punched through the boxcar like bullets through a soda can. It rocked on its wheels and fire blossomed out its roof, and the whole train screeched.

"If you derail the train, you'll kill everyone aboard!" hollered Rouge.

Shadow remembered hanging from shackles in a restraining frame, watching Robotnik torture an experimental subject. "We'll be doing the world a favor."

Suddenly the boxcar broke free of the train and rolled sideways off the line, tumbling in flames down the incline toward the trees.

A white hedgehog and purple cat stood atop the next boxcar, braced against the train's movement. The white hedgehog shook his fist at them.

"Maria, scan," said Shadow. "Identify those two."

Maria traced both Mobians with a detail scan, including zoomed-in shots of their faces. "The cat is an unknown entity. The white hedgehog is named Silver. We met him during our mission to rescue Rouge yesterday."

"Are they working for Robotnik?"

"They are defending the train. Possibility: seventy-six percent."

Shadow pointed. "Omega, shoot them."

Omega fired two rockets. The tiny missiles streaked toward their targets, and Silver held up a hand. Both missiles froze in midair.

Ice crawled down Shadow's spine.

Silver waved a hand and the missiles flipped around to point at Omega.

Shadow grabbed Rouge's arm and clutched his chaos emerald. As the missiles shot back at them, he yelled, "Chaos control!"

Time slowed to a crawl. The missiles hung in the air five feet away, fire spurting from their ends. Shadow leaped forward, grabbed both missiles out of the air, and threw them into the trees. He jumped back on Omega's shoulders as the time stop ended.

The missiles exploded in orange flames to the left. Silver's triumphant grin turned to a wide-eyed stare.

"He's got chaos powers, too," yelled Shadow over the wind. "No more shooting while he's in line of sight."

Rouge gestured to herself, then pointed at the train. Shadow nodded.

Rouge crouched. Omega rolled closer to the rear of the train, and Rouge leaped into the air, beating her wings. She landed on the boxcar's top and swept Silver's feet out from under him with one kick. As Silver fell, Rouge intercepted the purple cat's fist en-route to Rouge's chin. Rouge twisted the cat's arm and threw her flat on the train's top.

The white hedgehog flew up in the air and floated over the train, out of reach. "You'll pay for that, bat-lady."

An incredibly strong force clamped down on Rouge's body, freezing her in place. She stared at Silver as he lifted her in the air, and flicked her off the train toward the ground flying by at sixty miles an hour.

The world blinked and Rouge sprawled on Omega's shoulders again. "What-?"

"Chaos control is an art, not a science," said Shadow. "I'd better deal with this myself." He gripped his emerald and vanished. He blinked into sight on top of the boxcar and smiled at Silver. "I told you not to get in my way."

Silver snarled and lifted both hands, but Shadow had already vanished.

* * *

Sonic and Robo Knux caught up to the train and watched the whole bizarre encounter. "Shadow's trying to wreck the train?" said Sonic. "I'm not asking. I don't want to know."

"If he hurts Elise," said Robo Knux, "I'm going to stab him full of holes and see how long he takes to heal."

Sonic sped up and ran alongside the train, focused on the passenger cars. Robo Knux flew low behind him, his jet backwash kicking up a plume of dust.

The second passenger car back from the engine had a small balcony ringed with rails. Sally and Elise stood on this balcony, peering around with their hair mussed in the wind. Sally pointed at Sonic and waved. Elise's face lit up and she waved, too.

Sonic ran up the embankment and leaped to the balcony, hanging on to the outside of the railing. "Sorry ladies, I think you're on the wrong train!"

Elise flung her arms around him through the railing. "Oh Sonic! I knew you'd come!"

Sonic shot an embarrassed look at Sally. Sally's lips compressed.

As Elise released Sonic, Robo Knux flew up and clanged against the railing, too. "Climb up here, girls, let's get moving."

"What's going on?" said Sally, looking from Sonic to Robo Knux.

"Shadow and Omega are trying to derail the train," said Sonic. "Probably because Robotnik's driving."

Elise's hands flew to her mouth. "Dr. Robotnik? Oh no!" She scrambled over the railing with an agility Sonic had not expected in a human and flung herself into Sonic's arms.

Sonic had to leap clear or be knocked under the train. He stumbled down the embankment, trying to keep Elise's long legs from scraping in the gravel, but arrived at the bottom without having quite fallen over or dropping her. He glanced over his shoulder.

Robo Knux lifted Sally in his arms and launched himself into the air. His green eyes met Sonic's in a look of pure hatred.

The train screeched and the cars jolted into each other. As Sonic fled away from the tracks, he glanced down the line. Two boxcars had derailed and toppled in slow motion down the embankment, dragging more cars off the rails with them.

As they plunged into the trees, Sonic glanced up at Sally. Her eyes tracked him, and one of her hands was clenched in a fist against Robo Knux's arm.

Oh man. Sonic was in for some domestic violence later.

* * *

Silver slumped against a tree trunk with blood in his mouth. The world swam into focus. He touched his lip and looked at the blood on his fingers. "He let me live," he muttered. He dragged himself to his feet, leaning against the tree trunk. Where had Blaze gone? Had Shadow killed her?

A hundred feet up the line, the train lay in twisted ruin, cars hanging off the track, some lying on their sides. Shadow, the bat and the robot were nowhere in sight.

"Blaze?" Silver said. His weak voice didn't carry far. He tried to put more energy into it. "Blaze!"

Burn it all, his ribs and arms ached from Shadow's beating. Silver hadn't been able to catch him with his telekinesis. No wonder Shadow and Mephiles looked alike. Shadow was a demon, too.

How was it that Sonic was the Iblis Trigger and not Shadow?

"Silver?" said Blaze somewhere to his right. Silver pushed through low-hanging spruce branches and found her sitting up, holding her head.

Silver knelt beside her. "Are you all right?"

Blaze touched his face. "He worked you over." She rose to her feet and brushed leaves off her coat. "Once I thought to let myself burn, he never touched me. He only threw me off the train." She looked at the footprints on Silver's ribs and her eyes narrowed. "I think we're indebted to Shadow. Let's return his payment with interest."

"How?" said Silver, holding his sides. "He's got a chaos emerald. He's too burning fast."

"You have a chaos emerald, too," said Blaze. "Use chaos control on him."

Silver pulled it out of his glove, where he had carried the blue gem against his palm. "Let's go."

* * *

Robotnik stepped out of the engine's cockpit onto the gravel embankment, and gazed down the length of the wrecked train. Then he turned to Shadow, Rouge and Omega. "This is your doing."

"You deserve worse," said Shadow. "My life was a living hell after you changed Mekion."

Robotnik folded his arms. "This is about that little incident?"

"No," said Shadow. "That was only a reminder of what I owe you. For now, what do you want with Mephiles?"

Robotnik snorted. "I see you've interacted with the Dark enough to learn its name. Congratulations. You're more foolish than I gave you credit for."

Shadow's hands curled into fists at his sides.

"Mephiles has ties to the Solaris project," said Robotnik with a shrug. "I need it for my research. Bring it to me and we might talk further." He pulled out a strange-looking device, all wires and buttons. "For now, I have other matters to attend to. How nice to see you all again." He pressed three buttons and vanished in a crackle of electricity.

"He's using the Solaris project himself?" said Rouge. "He must be closer to a breakthrough than we guessed!"

Shadow looked down the length of the train, where a white hedgehog and purple cat floated toward them. "Don't look now, but the dream team's back."

Rouge leaned against Omega's chest. "Shadow, I'll leave this to you."


	9. Chapter 9: Uncovered

Tales of Soleanna by K.M. Carroll

Story 9: Uncovered

* * *

As soon as Sonic set foot on the Soleanna palace grounds, he set Elise on her feet and beckoned to Robo Knux. The red robot swooped down and dumped Sally beside Sonic, then moved to walk on Elise's other side like a possessive bulldog. Tails followed at a safe distance.

"Sonic, that was so amazing!" Elise exclaimed, clasping her hands. "I've never had so much fun in my life!"

Sonic chuckled. "Yeah, some fun, huh?" He caught Sally's glare and dropped his eyes. Hoo boy, he was in for it.

Sally cleared her throat and brushed her auburn hair out of her eyes. "Princess, we really shouldn't detain you any longer. You have your bodyguard to escort you."

"Oh, don't leave yet," said Elise, turning to the Mobians. "I feel like I'm waking up for the first time. It's funny, but I never thought Mobians could make me feel so human."

"Life and death situations have a way of doing that," said Sonic, avoiding Sally's eyes.

They walked up the acre of sloping lawn toward the palace, its marble wings casting long shadows over them. The guards pointed at them and ran down the hill.

Elise sighed and stopped. "How about both of you come to dinner with me tonight?"

Sonic checked Sally's face, but Sally looked away. Maybe she'd simmer down by tonight. "Sure, sounds good."

Then the guards clustered around Elise and escorted her away, leaving Sonic and Sally standing on the grass. Sonic glanced around for Tails, but the fox was a hundred feet away, arms folded. Even Tails knew what was coming.

Sonic waved to him. "We're headed back to the hotel."

Tails nodded and headed down the lawn, giving Sonic and Sally plenty of space.

Sonic contemplated scooping Sally up and carrying her into town at a hundred miles an hour. It'd be too noisy for her to lay into him. Of course, it might be better to get it over with before they got back to their room.

Sally's silence weighed on Sonic like a lead blanket as they picked their way down the palace driveway and back to street level. Finally Sonic decided to go on the offensive. "Sal, I know Elise has a thing for me. But it's not mutual."

"Oh, it's not?" said Sally. "You two sure wrapped around each other as you jumped off the train."

Sonic threw his hands in the air. "Sal, it was that or drop both of us under the train. I came for you, not her. Robo Knux is the one with the hots for her."

"At least she invited both of us to dinner this time," said Sally through her teeth. "She only wanted you the other times."

"She always had Robo Knux or that Lord Kaz guy, too," said Sonic. "I never thought she seriously had a crush on me." He grinned at Sally. "You're jealous, aren't you?"

Sally's smile had a lot of teeth in it, but she clasped his hand. "We've barely been married a week, Sonic. Of course I'm jealous. I always have been."

Sonic kissed her. "So you're okay with dinner?"

Sally sighed. "I'll be diplomatic. I hope I have something suitable to wear. But you'd better be telling the truth about it not being mutual, Sonic Hedgehog."

Sonic pointed a finger down his throat. "She's a human, Sal. Humans just aren't my type."

* * *

Silver gripped the blue chaos emerald and licked his bloody lip. Shadow stood apart from the robot and bat girl, waiting for him. Silver glanced at Blaze, who nodded at him.

Silver ran forward and yelled, "Chaos control!"

At the same time, Shadow held up his orange emerald and said the same thing.

The emeralds pulsed their power and the world splintered into floating, sparkling bits. Shadow and Silver hung among them. Silver levitated himself by instinct, but there was no ground here. Only weightlessness, like being under water. "What happened?"

"You induced chaos control," said Shadow. "Two of them at once caused a Chaos Shift." Shadow gazed at Silver. "How much chaos power do you know?"

Silver tried to look superior. "All kinds, Shadow. Now let's go back."

"Wait," said Shadow. He pointed at the shards of time as they drifted by. "Robotnik keeps talking about the Solaris project of ten years ago. Like it's the key to Iblis and Mephiles."

Silver's eyes widened. "You know Mephiles?"

Shadow smirked. "He took my form, moron. Of course I know him." Shadow turned and dove into a splinter that displayed the Kingdom Valley castle intact.

As Silver reached for it, he glanced off into the darkness between the shards, and froze. A pair of glowing red eyes stared at him in the distance. Shadow only had one glowing red eye. Were there monsters here?

Silver dove into the shard. He landed on grass beside Shadow, and straightened up, trying to look as if he traveled this way all the time.

"There," said Shadow. "The castle was destroyed when the Solaris Project failed." He lifted the orange emerald. "Teleport after me."

"Shadow, wait!"

Shadow lowered the emerald and flicked an ear in Silver's direction.

Silver bit his lip and shook his head. "This doesn't make sense."

"Of course it does," said Shadow. "We traveled into the past via chaos power."

"Not that," said Silver. "You. Helping me. After you beat me up."

"Oh, that." Shadow turned to face Silver and folded his arms. "I thought you were working for Robotnik. Are you?"

"No," growled Silver. "I was trying to protect Princess Elise, who was on the train."

Shadow's living eye widened, pupil contracting to a dot. "The Princess?"

Silver nodded. "Blaze said Sonic got her off the train before you wrecked it. I didn't notice because someone was pounding my face at the time."

"Oh." Shadow looked down for a moment. "Then consider this trip my apology. Do you know how to teleport?"

Silver shook his head.

Shadow held out a hand. "Come on, I'll teach you."

The hedgehogs Chaos Relocated across the valley in short hops, traveling by line of sight. The town was a smaller version of Soleanna, with buildings of the same yellow stone. Farmland spread around the town to the valley's edges, sweeping up the lowest foothills in green and brown rectangles. The castle itself was all turrets and high walls with narrow windows, like a keep from ancient days when invaders threatened the region.

Shadow and Silver teleported up on the battlements, down into the courtyard, and used Chaos Control to sneak indoors, past the guards. Inside was a labyrinth of narrow hallways with signs that were not always helpful. Shadow simply took the route that had the most guards. Before long they arrived at a stairwell leading to a laboratory under the castle. The hedgehogs crept down it and teleported through the locked door at the bottom.

They arrived in an antechamber with a glass wall overlooking the lab. It was a large room with rounded walls. High-tech equipment Silver couldn't identify stood everywhere. In the middle of the room stood a column of glass and metal, with a burning orange flame in the center. Scientists clustered around it, working at pillar consoles and wearing dark goggles.

One scientist stood apart from the others, gazing at the fire. "Solaris, hear my plea! All we ask is to borrow your power for a while. Grant us that."

The fire fizzed brighter and made a snarling sound.

Another scientist looked up. "My liege, if this power surge continues, we won't be able to contain it!"

The scientist-king bashed his fist on top of a console. "Curse it all, Solaris! Why won't you listen to me?"

Another door opened out of Silver's line of sight, and a red-haired girl ran in. "Father?"

The king spun. "Elise! No! Get out of here!"

The scientists backed away from their consoles. "It's beyond maximum capacity! Everyone take cover!"

Shadow grabbed Silver's arm and teleported. Disoriented, Silver staggered on rocky ground and saw moss and trees all around. "What happened?"

"The explosion," said Shadow. He dove behind a boulder and pulled Silver down beside him.

The boom jolted Silver's teeth and punched his chest. The ground shook and hot wind roared over them, snapping trees in half and toppling rocks off the mountainside. Had the Flames been unleashed? Silver covered his head with both arms.

After a few minutes the wind died. Silver cautiously lifted his head. Shadow rose to his feet and stepped out from behind the rock. He pointed. "Look."

The once-beautiful Kingdom Valley had become a blackened crater. Smoke billowed up from the rubble that had once been the castle, and the air fizzed with chaos energy. Chunks of debris still rained from the sky, punching fresh holes in the earth upon impact.

Shadow gripped his emerald. "Time to see what happened."

Silver laid a hand on Shadow's shoulder. "We're going back in there? Isn't it all caved in?"

"The Princess is still alive in the present day," said Shadow. "Stands to reason something survived down there."

Silver gulped and Shadow teleported.

Heat struck Silver's face. All the lights had been extinguished, but the machine in the room's center still held a glowing red sphere in its center. Black muck dripped out the bottom and spattered on the floor. Bodies lay everywhere, and all the equipment had been flattened into the walls. Many of them still smouldered.

Shadow and Silver checked body after body, but the scientists lay dead, many with blood oozing from eyes, nose and mouth. "From the blast's concussion," whispered Shadow.

A high-pitched voice said, "Someone's still alive over there."

Silver squinted at Shadow. A black creature rode on his shoulder, burrowed under his spines. How long had that thing been there? He followed Shadow across the room and around a corner, where the wall jutted out in a three-foot-thick bastion. Behind this lay the king and the princess.

The princess looked unharmed, but was unconscious. The king forced himself to a sitting position, and blood gushed from his nose and mouth. "Contain them, please!"

Silver pushed back his forelock and looked over his shoulder at the orange glowing ball Orange flames licked out of it. The Flames of Disaster. That thing was Iblis!

"Seal it with this," whispered the king. He held out a glass rod topped with silver wings. Shadow took it and bowed. "It will be done."

Shadow turned and hefted the scepter. "I'll handle Mephiles."

Silver pointed at the black ooze. "That's Mephiles?"

Shadow said, "Chaos control!" and vanished. The blackness folded itself together and rose into the air, turning into a thick smoke. Shadow reappeared and held up the scepter, his other hand holding up the blazing orange chaos emerald.

The smoke billowed toward the scepter and was sucked into its glass core. As it went, Mephiles's voice growled, "I'll get you for this, hedgehog. I'll remember your face, your form. Your punishment has only been put off."

Then it vanished into the scepter. Shadow gazed at it with eyes half-closed, lips pressed together.

The king emerged from hiding with Elise in his arms. He staggered to the platform beneath the hatching Iblis, and laid Elise beneath it. Then the king pulled the white chaos emerald out of his inner shirt pocket. "Hedgehog, hold this below Iblis."

Silver scrambled up on the platform and held up the emerald. The king waved a hand. "Point the tip at her heart and say, 'Chaos confine'."

Silver obeyed. The white gem's glow brightened, and Iblis's flames licked downward into it. A beam of light shot out of the gem's tip like a laser, straight into the little girl's chest.

Her eyes opened, passed over Silver, the gem and Iblis, and focused on her father. The king clasped her hand. "Lie still, Elise. You will have to be strong, now. I'm sorry I'm giving you this great burden, but there's no other choice. Grow into a good, kind, wise queen, and never cry, no matter what happens."

Elise's eyes widened. "Papa, where are you going?"

The king sank to his knees as his breath rattled in his lungs. Silver had to look away. The Iblis egg shrank to a pebble as it fed downward, into the princess's heart. So the Flames of Disaster were sealed inside the Princess herself, and Mephiles was evil slime who was locked inside a scepter. Silver needed to rethink a few things.

Shadow watched from nearby, arms folded, expression inscrutable.

The Iblis egg vanished, and the emerald fired one last puff of power. Elise sighed and closed her eyes. The king released her hand and looked at Silver and Shadow. "Take her to the Soleanna palace. For me."

"It will be done, sire," said Shadow.

The king sank to the floor, flopped on his back, and breathed his last.

Silver stepped off the platform, tucked the white emerald into his glove, and gently lifted Elise. Shadow jerked his head. "Come on. I'll take us."

Shadow teleported them down to Soleanna, which looked a lot like the Soleanna of the future.

Silver laid Elise on the ground under a tree near the castle's doors. He gazed down at her a long moment, and one hand rose to touch the black stain on his chest fur. Suddenly he knelt, turned her hand over, and pressed the blue chaos emerald into it. "This was always yours."

Then he and Shadow Chaos Shifted back to the present day.

Rouge, Omega and Blaze still stood beside the wrecked train, and looked at the hedgehogs expectantly. Only a few seconds had passed. Wait, Silver and Shadow had been about to fight, hadn't they?

Shadow stalked toward Rouge and Omega. "Things have changed. Let's go."

Rouge's eyes flicked from Shadow to Silver and back, but she shrugged and fluttered up on Omega's shoulder. Shadow jumped up on his other shoulder and said, "Chaos relocate!" They vanished in a sparkle of chaos power.

Blaze flicked her tail and looked at Silver. "That was weird."

"We went back in time," said Silver. He looked at his hands. The blue chaos emerald rode in his left glove, the white emerald in his right. By giving Elise the blue emerald, he'd insured that she'd given it to him. So he still had it, somehow? When had it reappeared, anyway?

Blaze rotated her wrist. "And ... I assume you did something back in time?"

"I saw the Flames of Disaster released," said Silver. He bowed his head. "I helped seal them inside Princess Elise."

Blaze's face slackened, jaw dropping, eyes widening.

"I don't know how that makes Sonic the Iblis Trigger, but we've got to keep her out of Robotnik's hands. He knows."

"We'll go to the palace, then," said Blaze. "And you'd better explain on the way. In detail."

* * *

Robo Knux trailed at Elise's heels all over the palace that afternoon. Why must the restraining shell lock down so hard on him once he was back indoors? He wouldn't murder anyone. Well, no one important.

And why did his core temperature rise whenever Elise glanced in his direction? Why did he want to kill Sonic for her? Sonic wasn't even interested in Elise. Why couldn't Elise notice Robo Knux's faithful service, even once? Couldn't she see what his slavish obedience implied? But no. He looked like a robot to her. Just a machine following orders. She couldn't see the torment inside his living nanite brain.

Robo Knux assisted Elise as she attended to affairs of state, arranged for a dinner with Sonic and Sally that evening, then was bathed, dressed and groomed by her servants. Alas, Robo Knux was consigned to standing guard outside the door for the last few activities.

As he stood there, arms at his sides and head bowed, Robo Knux finally understood why Metal Sonic had undertaken years of research to make himself into an android. People respected Metal Sonic. Restraining shells were a thing of the past. When Metal Sonic had learned to love his chao-he doted on her disgustingly-Robo Knux had mocked him.

Why bother to love another? All it did was make you vulnerable to being hurt in completely new ways. Robo Knux remembered trying to murder Mecha's chao before Mecha's eyes, and of the beating Mecha had given him. Mecha had changed on a fundamental level that Robo Knux didn't understand.

But now, Robo Knux understood.

Robo Knux had experienced crushes before. Enjoyable and as short-lived as the object of his affection. But this was something different. This bypassed his emotional center and plunged deep into his core, where basic virtues like loyalty and kindness had long slumbered. To his horror, he admitted that he truly wanted the best for Elise. And the best was not him.

It wasn't Sonic, either.

So Robo Knux suffered outside Elise's door, fists clenching and unclenching, the only physical expression his restraining shell permitted. He'd stay by her side and serve her as the best bodyguard she'd ever had, all the way to the end of her life. Then he'd become her self-appointed tombstone. If anyone wanted to leave her flowers, they'd have to go through him first.

The sun sank and sent long orange beams down the hallway. Lord Kaz appeared and loitered outside Elise's room, hands in his pockets. Only Robo Knux's eyes moved, following Kaz's movements.

Kaz stepped over and stood beside Robo Knux. "You think I've got a chance with the Princess?"

Oh boy, a chance to burst Kaz's bubble. "Maybe, if she wasn't obsessed with a married man."

Kaz stared down at him. "What? Who?"

Robo Knux would have smiled evilly if he'd had a mouth. "You know that blue hedgehog she keeps inviting to tea?"

"Sonic?" Kaz brushed a hand through his hair. "Really, I should have known. She is pretty obsessed with him. I expect that'll be over soon, though."

The door opened and Elise emerged, red hair styled with wispy white feathers. A white dress trimmed with blue and gold swirled at her knees. "Oh, Lord Kaz, you didn't have to wait for me."

"It's a pleasure to await your appearance, my lady," said Kaz, bowing. "Shall I escort you to dinner?"

Elise politely took Kaz's offered arm. Robo Knux trailed them down the hall. Why wasn't Kaz upset about Sonic? Was he so confident a relationship between a human and a Mobian wouldn't work out? Well, sure it wouldn't, for all kinds of reasons. But it could cause trouble for both Elise and Sonic if word got out.

Blast Kaz. He was positioned to swoop in and catch Elise on the rebound from her breakup with Sonic.

* * *

Sonic and Sally went to dinner with Elise, Sally against her better judgment, and Sonic against his will.

Sonic hardly noticed Robo Knux escorting them through the palace and out to a remote spot on the castle grounds. Somehow, Sonic needed to explain to Elise that this crush on him wasn't feasible. He was married, for crying out loud! Not to mention Elise was a human. That was all kinds of wrong. Sonic shook his head at himself. He had too much charisma.

A table and four chairs was set up on a grassy bank overlooking a pond. Pink-flowered trees encircled the pond like a sunset-tinted cloud, their petals floating on the water's mirror-smooth surface.

Sally caught her breath. "Oh! How beautiful!"

Elise strolled around one of the trees with Lord Kaz, saw them and dropped his arm. She ran to Sonic and Sally and held out both hands to Sonic. Then she caught herself and greeted Sally, too.

Sally shot Sonic a look of death.

Sonic's anxiety grew all through dinner, which was a series of dainty dishes ferried to them over the grass by waiters with carts. Elise had sure inconvenienced her staff with this dinner. Sonic's heart sank a little further. This was going to be harder than he'd thought.

As the waiters cleared the last course away, Elise rose to her feet. "Sonic, would you accompany me?"

Sonic stood and cast Sally a look that said, "Here goes nothing."

Sally nodded encouragement, then turned to Kaz. "So, Lord Kaz, where are you from?"

Kaz launched into an account of his complex position in a northern province, and Sonic automatically tuned him out because of the boring. Sally was a saint, especially because she managed to look interested.

Elise and Sonic walked along the pond's edge until the flowering trees hid them from everyone else. Then Elise said, "Isn't this the most beautiful place you've ever seen?"

Sonic nodded. "Yep. Pretty nice."

Elise looked down at him. "You've probably seen lots of beautiful places in your travels, haven't you?"

Sonic nodded again. Where was she going with this?

Elise opened her mouth as if to say something, then turned away. "I wanted to thank you for saving me today. While the last few days have been frightening, they've also been ... liberating. I feel like I've been able to be myself. Not just the Princess everyone expects."

Sonic had to say something. "Uh, yeah. Being a Princess is hard work, huh?"

Elise smiled at him. "Of course it is. But I love my people. The buildings, the families, our faith in Solaris. It's all worth the work. From the time I was a little girl, my father raised me to be queen. A strong queen." Her voice dropped. "Who never cries, no matter what happens."

Why did that last remark strike dread into Sonic's marrow?

Elise turned to him, suddenly sober. "When you've defeated Robotnik, you'll leave, won't you?"

Oh boy. Here it came. Sonic nodded. "I have to. My home is West Mobius."

Elise turned away with a sound like a stifled sob, and tilted her face to the sky. Sonic touched her arm. "Princess?"

"I'm fine," she said softly. "I must not cry." Then she dropped to her knees and flung her arms around Sonic's neck, burying her face in his neck fur.

Oh, hey, this was awkward. Good thing Sally couldn't see. Elise's breathing was hot and jerky against his neck as if she was working up to a good cry. Oh Chaos, no.

Mustering as much cheerfulness as he could, Sonic said, "Hey, Elise. Smile."

She pulled away and looked at him, tears standing in her eyes. She managed a weak smile, drew a deep breath and wiped away her tears. "You're right. There's no reason to cry. In fact I-"

The drone of an aircraft drowned her out. Come to think of it, Sonic had been aware of it for several minutes, and had thought it was only a passing plane. He and Elise looked up and saw an immense arrow-shaped ship darkening the evening sky above the castle.

Robotnik's voice boomed down from it. "You have one hour to hand over Princess Elise, or I'll bomb Soleanna. This is your only warning."

Sonic looked at Elise. "Don't do it."

Elise straightened and gazed up at the ship. She bit her lip, and the steel mask clamped down behind her eyes, the way it had when Sonic had first seen her. "I'll consult with my guard. But if I have to go to him as a hostage, I'll do it. He has done me no harm so far."

"Then take your bodyguard," said Sonic. "Or have him sneak aboard."

"Robo Knux?" said Elise, frowning. "I suppose he was there at the train today, wasn't he?"

Man, she'd blotted RK from her consciousness. No wonder RK was so angry. "Yeah," said Sonic. "He's more capable than you realize."

They hurried back to the table, where Kaz, Sally and Robo Knux looked up at the ship and gestured. Elise and Robo Knux jogged back toward the castle.

Kaz turned to Sonic. "Don't let that ship out of your sight."

Sonic rolled his eyes. Some stuffed shirt was telling him how to do his job? Now Sonic had heard everything. "Yeah, duh."

"I mean it," said Kaz, placing both hands on the table and leaning forward. "If it reaches Kingdom Valley, Elise will die."

"How do you know that?" said Sally. "Are you a spy for Robotnik?"

Kaz straightened up and glared at her from his full height. "Princess, please. Do I look like a boot-licking backstabber to you?"

"You tell me," said Sally, folding her arms. "They come in all shapes and sizes."

"Nice one, Sal," said Sonic out of the side of his mouth.

Kaz's eyes focused on Sonic. "I know who you are, Iblis Trigger. This is your last chance to redeem yourself." He turned and strode up the lawn toward the castle.

Sally looked at Sonic. "Iblis Trigger?"

Sonic shook his head. "I don't know how he knew that. Unless he heard Silver yell it at me. Elise better watch out for that guy."

"Tell me about it," said Sally. "His title was bought and paid for. He hasn't got a drop of true royal blood."

"What the heck," Sonic muttered. "Anyway, I tried to break up with Elise and she got pretty upset. Hopefully that's done now. And this rescue won't be seen as a come-on."

"Heavens, no," said Sally. "I'm getting Tails and we're moving to cover."

A memory of the ruined Soleanna of the future danced in Sonic's mind. "Yeah. Go to the mountains, if you can."

Sally gave him a long look. "When you get back, you need to fill me in on everything."


	10. Chapter 10: Unfeasible

Tales of Soleanna by K.M. Carroll

Story 10: Unfeasible

* * *

The Soleanna Archive lay in the oldest section of the city. It was a three-story building of traditional yellow stone, all engraved arches and pillars, and a glass dome rose in the center of the building. As Shadow walked inside, the late afternoon sunlight streamed in through the dome, casting a slab of sunlight across three stories of bookshelves.

Shadow tasted aging paper on the back of his tongue, and made a face. "Nox, I'm looking for someone old and very smart."

On his shoulder, Nox said, "Intelligence isn't something I can feel. Um, let's see."

Shadow glanced at Nox's shining eyes on his shoulder as the chao turned his head, feeling the area with his empathetic sense. "There's a couple of people in the next room. They mostly feel tired. I think they want to go home. There's one person upstairs, but he's too far away for me to feel much."

Shadow jogged up the staircase that spiraled up the inside of the dome. "I need Reginald Dover. The archeologist said he'd be here somewhere."

"I can't feel people's names," said Nox. "Good thing Rouge and Omega stayed outside. Omega couldn't handle these stairs."

"He could with his jet, but he'd set fire to the books," said Shadow.

The black hedgehog arrived on the top floor. Nox pointed at a half-open door at the end of the landing. Shadow skated to it, halted and knocked.

"Come in," said a male voice.

Shadow stepped inside. It was study the size of a small house, its walls lined with books. The floor held a desk, three armchairs, two reading lamps, and an old human with white hair and spectacles. The human looked over his spectacles at Shadow and waved a hand. "Come in, please. What might I do for you?"

Shadow walked up to the desk. Why must human furniture be a fraction too large for a Mobian to use properly? The desk's top was at Shadow's eye level, making him stand on tiptoe to see over it. "Are you Reginald Dover?"

"I am," said the human.

"I'm Shadow the Hedgehog. I need information."

Reginald turned in his chair. "Come over here, where we can see each other."

Shadow circled the desk and stood before Reginald. "The king of Soleanna used to carry a scepter. It was made of glass and metal, and had wings on the top."

"Oh yes," said Reginald. "It was lost in the Kingdom Valley disaster."

"I need to know where it came from," Shadow said. "What it was made of. Everything you have."

Reginald rose from his chair, joints creaking. "Let me see what I can do for you."

* * *

Half an hour later, Shadow emerged from the Archive with a paper clutched in one hand. Rouge and Omega sat on the bottom step, and rose to their feet as Shadow clattered down the steps. "Did you get it?" said Rouge.

Shadow handed her the paper. Rouge skimmed the handwritten notes. "Scepter was crafted by an artisan in the twelfth century, believed to be named Androwan Hu. It was passed down from ruler to ruler throughout the Solarian dynasty until the human incursion of the late thirtieth century. They adopted the customs and religion of the Solarians and renamed the country Soleanna..."

Shadow was walking away. Rouge and Omega hurried after him. "How does this help us?" said Rouge. "The scepter was incredibly ancient. There's no way we can rebuild it."

Shadow held up his orange chaos emerald and kept walking.

Rouge ran up to walk beside him. "You're going to time travel again?"

Shadow nodded once.

Rouge sighed. "Can we go this time?"

Shadow shook his head.

"Then where are we going?"

The black hedgehog gazed at the horizon. "To the site believed to be Androwan's shop."

* * *

Robotnik's immense airship floated in the air above the Soleanna palace. As Robotnik's hovercraft flew down to the palace to take the Princess, a distant red dot flew up to the airship.

"It's another Egg Carrier," muttered Robo Knux. Well, heck, he knew exactly where to hide. He poured an extra burst of power into his jets and launched himself up over the sky deck. From there it was a simple matter of finding the rear maintenance hatch, carving it open with his claws, and dropping inside the ship.

The restraining shell had taken its time about unlocking his jets again. Robo Knux had to wait around and watch Robotnik escort Elise into his ship, covering the guards with a nasty-looking quad-barrel blaster. Robo Knux had pointed out to the shell five times that Elise was in danger before it relented. Stupid thing. It didn't even give him the benefit of a good argument, the way Mekion did with Shadow.

Robo Knux swept the ship with a scan, careful not to answer the main ship's wireless query. He'd been flagged as an enemy in Robotnik's computers years ago. The ship's layout was the same. The Hot Shelter had been converted into bomb storage, though. Bombs might be a trifle lighter than the million gallons of saltwater Robotnik had carried for Chaos's use. What a laugh that fiasco had been.

Deep in the ship was Robo Knux's favorite hangout, a room beneath four swinging counterweights and an open network uplink. He'd hidden there and tormented Metal Sonic for hours, because Metal Sonic could never figure out where he was.

"Psst."

Robo Knux halted and doubled back. Something moved in a darkened doorway. He stalked toward it, brandishing his claws, and scanning.

No way. Not possible.

Sonic grinned and tapped his finger to his lips. "Shh. I'm not here yet."

Robo Knux pointed at him. "I saw you. You were freaking out down at the castle."

Sonic checked his watch. "Yep. I am. In half an hour I'm trashing this joint. Wanna help?"

Robo Knux's green eyes brightened a hundred watts. "Heck yes!"

* * *

Silver and Blaze watched Robotnik's ship soar away from Soleanna, filling the sky like a steel cloud. Silver sighed and folded his arms. "You think he's got the Princess again?"

Blaze nodded. "He's been pretty single-minded about it. And knowing what we know about her ..."

Silver clenched his fists. "She's Iblis's prison. And Iblis must not be freed." He waved a hand at Blaze, levitated her and himself a few feet off the ground, and propelled them toward the ship.

Blaze pointed. "It's probably heading for his base in Kingdom Valley. Just head him off."

Silver switched directions and floated them above the treetops. As they flew, a hail of objects fell from the ship's underside, sparkling in the sun's last rays. Robots. As they disappeared behind the trees, the noise of gunfire reached them on the wind.

Blaze shielded her eyes and squinted. "I think they're attacking someone."

"It's got to be either Sonic or Shadow," said Silver. "Or both."

Blaze shot Silver a mischievous grin he hadn't seen in days. "We could go help." She flicked two fingers and orange fire danced above them.

Silver changed course again, trying to hide a grin. "Don't set the trees on fire."

"If I do, it'll be your fault."

* * *

Sonic pounded along the road in the airship's wake, arms pumping and feet flying. He saw the robots dropping for him, and tensed. His spines stiffened, ready to tear through metal at high velocities, and he grinned.

The first five robots swooped toward him, and Sonic introduced them to a high-speed spindash that burst them like balloons of metal shrapnel.

So many robots dropped that Sonic actually slowed down to attack them all. No matter how many he mowed down, more appeared. The airship slowly pulled away. Curse Robotnik! He knew exactly what he was doing!

Suddenly a sheet of flame flashed across the road, burning through fifty robots at once. As it faded, their blackened hulks collapsed into the road. Sonic skidded to a halt and stared, mouth hanging open. "What was that, a flamethrower?"

Blaze and Silver walked out of the trees, each holding up a hand. Silver's hand glowed with his telekinesis power, while Blaze's hand swirled with orange fire. Her eyes were fixed and expressionless. She cupped her hands and hurled more fire at an oncoming robot squadron. Silver grabbed the fire with his telekinesis and accelerated it. The additional oxygen fanned the fire into a wall of flame that torched the robots.

Sonic gaped.

Silver flashed Sonic a grin. "Thought you could use the help."

"Uh, yeah, uh, thanks." Sonic pointed at the airship. "We've got to move."

"We're right behind you," Silver said.

Sonic sprinted away down the road. A glance over his shoulder revealed Silver and Blaze flying after him, surrounded by Silver's telekinesis field. As long as they were using it to help, Sonic didn't mind. He slowed down enough for them to catch up. "So why are you guys helping me?"

"We have a shared interest," called Silver. "Saving Elise."

Sonic shot a look at Silver and Blaze. "First you show up and pound me, then you throw pieces of train at Shadow, now you're cooking robots. Just, wha?"

Silver shot a look at Blaze, who smirked. "Uh, Sonic, you know the whole Iblis Trigger thing..."

"Yeah, I kind of got updated on that when we visited your time and saw Mephiles send you guys here."

Blaze pointed at Sonic. "I saw you! Out in the hallway!"

Silver's two spines stiffened. "How is that possible?"

"Buttnik shipped us off with some experimental time travel device. We ran around your ruined city and saw that lava dude and stuff. Mephiles called me the Iblis Trigger and went on about how I let Iblis loose. I still don't see how I'm going to do that, by the way."

"Iblis is imprisoned inside of Elise," said Silver.

Sonic nearly tripped over his own feet. "Say what?"

"Time travel," said Silver. "Shadow and I went back and saw it all. Mephiles and Iblis are pieces of Solaris. Mephiles was sealed into a scepter and Iblis is locked inside of Elise. That's why Robotnik wants her."

Sonic pressed his hands to his temples. "Wait, wait, hold it! That lava monster is inside her? How does that work?"

"Iblis wasn't fully manifested," said Silver. "His soul was trapped inside hers with the chaos emerald. I don't know how it worked."

"I'm gonna have to ask Knux about that," Sonic muttered. "Weirdness. So, I was already going to rescue her because she's the princess, but now we have to rescue her to keep Iblis from Triggering? Uh, should I be the one doing this?"

Silver gave him a sideways look. "Maybe not, come to think of it."

Overhead, the airship's engines throttled down to a rumble, and something rattled. They looked up to see fire and debris spurt out of the starboard engine.

"Elise!" Sonic yelled. "No!" He whipped out his green chaos emerald, but the entire ship exploded into flame and began a slow sideways spiral, nose tilting downward.

Sonic, Silver and Blaze stopped and stared. The ship plunged downward into the hills, flames rolling off it like long red ribbons, until it hit the ground and erupted in a fireball that swept half the sky, then all was covered in black smoke.

Silver tapped Sonic on the shoulder. As Sonic turned, eyes wide and glassy, Silver pressed the white chaos emerald into his hand. "Here. Go back in time and save her."

Sonic blinked down at it, then smiled and handed it back. "It's all right, I've got the green one. You guys need all the help you can get. Maybe you could seal away Iblis in your time."

Silver's mouth fell open and he glanced at Blaze. "You think that could work?"

Blaze shrugged. "It's worth a try."

Sonic slapped Silver's shoulder. "I'll save Elise. You guys go save your time. If I keep Iblis from triggering, then your future will change anyway. Good luck!" He raised the green chaos emerald and vanished.

Silver turned to Blaze. "Do you think we could really seal away Iblis in our time?"

"You said he was only partially manifested," said Blaze. "In our time, he's been fully manifested for a long time."

"I could beat him to a pulp," said Silver, eyes unfocusing. "Maybe I could find his core. Catch him at his lowest point, then seal him."

Half of Blaze's mouth curled in a smile. "Your optimism is inspiring. Come on, let's try it."

* * *

Outside of Soleanna to the east lay a rolling woodland. Long ago there had been a town there, and foundations were still visible among tree roots. Fruit trees grew wild among the oaks and beeches, descendants of the orchards left behind by the inhabitants. But years ago the people had moved to the more fertile soil up north and west, leaving their old homes to crumble to dust.

Shadow, Omega and Rouge appeared out of nowhere in a grassy clearing where a house had once stood. Shadow gripped a scepter in one hand, identical to the one he'd broken.

"That was interesting," said Rouge. "I thought he was going to set his dogs on you."

"Androwan wasn't the most trusting of smiths," said Shadow, lifting the scepter with a smile. "But even he can be persuaded." He shot a glance at Rouge and Omega, Nox clinging to his shoulder. "Let's find Mephiles."

Shadow skated out of the clearing and ducked into the trees. Rouge fluttered after him, and Omega ignited his jet and flew over the treetops.

As the forest's edge, Rouge found Shadow standing with the scepter in one hand and the orange chaos emerald in the other. He stood perfectly still, eyes closed. Rouge folded her wings and waited. Shadow's sensitivity to chaos power amazed her. It was how he'd paid Androwan for the scepter-by charging a vessel with fifteen Chaos Spears. Apparently such a feat was unheard of in Androwan's time.

"He's close," murmured Shadow. "He's moving toward us."

"Shadow," said Omega. "I must speak to you."

Shadow dropped his arms and turned. "Now what?"

"I am over two hundred years old," said Omega. "When Rouge first summoned me from GUN, they had loaded me with an artificial intelligence patterned after Nox's personality."

Nox clapped his paws. "I knew it! He does talk just like me!"

"Wait," Shadow said, holding up a hand. "That was two hundred years ago. What's changed?"

Omega's red eyes winked out for a moment. "While I was in stasis, awaiting the point in time in which I was to assist you, I was hacked by a third party."

Shadow's organic eye widened.

"The creature Mephiles bypassed all of my system lockouts. He commanded me to hunt down and capture you. I subdued you and placed you in the stasis chamber, where you reside two hundred years from now. Then he allowed me to resume stasis. I regret my actions, but I lack the means to reverse them."

Shadow turned his back and folded his arms. "So you betrayed me."

"Not of my own volition," said Omega. "Understand. Mephiles hacked me with the entity called Mekion."

Shadow's fists clenched. "Mekion still finds ways to plague me." He lifted his head and gazed at the setting sun. "Well, no more."

Rouge walked up to Shadow and laid a hand on his living shoulder. "Shadow, I just wanted you to know ... even if the whole world turned against you, I'll still be your friend."

The black hedgehog gave her a long look. For a moment Shadow's perpetual haughty smirk was gone, and Rouge saw the young black hedgehog who had watched his world crumble with the death of a human girl.

"That means a lot to me," said Shadow. He looked away, and the hardness returned to his eyes and mouth. "Now it's time for payback. Mephiles, show yourself."

The setting sun vanished and sudden night covered the world. A hedgehog-like figure outlined in blue crystals rose out of the ground, its eyes glowing red and green. One hand glowed red and the other glowed purple. "Hello again, Shadow. As you can see, you're already too late to stop me. Or are you ready to join me?"

"Where'd he get those chaos emeralds?" Rouge whispered.

Shadow shrugged. "I'm going to beat your face into the black slime from whence it came."

Mephiles's arms drooped to his sides. He hung in midair, slouched forward as if the emeralds in his hands weighed heavily on his manufactured body. "You could have ruled the world at my side, Shadow."

"Don't bother lying anymore," said Shadow. "You don't want to rule anything. You lust for destruction. You're trying to pump up Iblis until he destroys every living thing on Mobius."

"Sadly, you lack the truth," said Mephiles. "But it is too late. I have already won." He swooped at Shadow, and Shadow held up the scepter.

Mephiles dissolved into black smoke, and the scepter vacuumed it up. The scepter floated in midair for a moment, then lightning crackled out of it. Shadow and Rouge shielded their eyes.

The scepter's fragments plinked to the ground and a whirlwind of darkness rose out of it. "When I absorbed your shadow, I absorbed your power, too," said Mephiles. "Capture me once, shame on you, capture me twice, shame on me." The swirling darkness resolved into Mephiles's crystalline face and glowing eyes, still turning in midair. "And now you shall die."

A wave of dark energy struck Shadow, Rouge and Omega, hurling them backward into the trees. Rouge slammed into Omega's arm and stars exploded across her vision. She shook her head and scrambled to her feet. Shadow was already up, crouched between her and Mephiles.

Mephiles raised the chaos emeralds in the air, and chaos power pulsed from both gems. As it flowed outward, copies of Mephiles appeared. Hundreds, thousands of crystal hedgehogs surrounded them, lighting the night with their red and green eyes.

Shadow laughed and turned his back on them all. He unclipped one gold bracelet, then the other, and let them fall to the grass. "I choose my own future, demon. And no one, especially not you, is going to scare me into a path I don't care to tread." He gripped the orange emerald in his fist and held it out to Rouge and Omega. They clasped their hands around his. Nox gripped Shadow's shoulder a little tighter.

Shadow looked at Rouge and Omega for a second, and smiled. Then he bellowed, "Chaos blast!"

Cleansing flames roared skyward.


	11. Chapter 11: Unforeseen

Tales of Soleanna By K.M. Carroll

Story 11: Unforeseen

* * *

Sonic arrived back in Soleanna just after noon. He landed on the same road he'd been following with Silver and Blaze, but now the sun was higher, and there were no charred robot husks. If Sonic remembered correctly, he was arguing with Sally about Elise right about now.

Time to find out where Robotnik kept an airship that big.

Chaos control helped Sonic snoop around Robotnik's base. He finally located a vast aircraft hanger halfway up a mountainside. Parked inside was the Egg Carrier ship, surrounded by robots busy fueling and loading it. Sonic teleported aboard and explored the interior. It was the same floorplan as the ones Chaos had destroyed in Sapphire City. How many of these things did Robotnik have, anyway?

And how to blow one up?

Sonic passed a tense, dull afternoon hiding from robots. Finally the engines revved up, and the ship cruised out of hiding into the air.

After a while, the ship dropped into a stationary hover, and Sonic crept out to try to find a window. Surely they were picking up Elise right now.

Footsteps approached, and Sonic ducked back into a doorway. Wait, did that robot have glowing green eyes? Oh man, this was perfect. Sonic hissed, "Psst!"

Robo Knux halted and raised his claws, then stepped sideways until he saw Sonic.

Sonic grinned and motioned for him to stay quiet. "Shh. I'm not here yet."

Robo Knux pointed at him. "I saw you. You were freaking out down at the castle."

Sonic checked the watch he'd worn specially for this purpose. "Yep. I am. In half an hour I'm trashing this joint. Wanna help?"

Robo Knux's green eyes brightened a hundred watts. "Heck yes!"

"Let's go to the bridge, though," said Sonic. "I want to eavesdrop. Robotnik knows all kinds of stuff about Elise and I want to hear it from the horse's mouth."

Robo Knux trailed behind him. "Like what stuff?"

"Like she has a giant freaking lava monster trapped inside her."

"She does?" Robo Knux hurried up beside Sonic, eyes glimmering. "I demand to know more."

Sonic grinned. Robo Knux loved bigger guns. "Robotnik's trying to get it out of her with chaos emeralds, but he keeps getting interrupted. I don't think he wants to hurt her, but he hasn't figured out how yet."

"That explains why Elise acts like that," muttered Robo Knux. "She's always acted like she was under a restraining shell, too. She's been holding back a monster. She's so perfect!"

Sonic shot Robo Knux a glance. "Seriously, dude, this crush of yours creeps me out."

"It's not a crush," said Robo Knux. "It's real. I love her enough to-to let someone else have her."

Sonic stared at Robo Knux and almost walked into an overhanging conduit. "Okay, maybe I spoke too soon."

They detoured through the air ducts, and arrived at a vent overlooking the bridge. After a few minutes, Robotnik escorted in Elise at gunpoint. He watched until she sat down in a nearby chair, then seated himself at the ship's controls with his weapon across his lap. "Thank you for cooperating, Princess."

Elise tilted her face upward and closed her eyes without answering.

"If you'd tell me the secret of the Flames of Disaster's release, I'll relieve you of them and you can go free. I understand it must be a terrible burden."

Elise said nothing, but her hands clenched in her lap.

Robo Knux's eyes glittered the way they did before he stabbed his claws into someone's vitals. Sonic inched backward and jerked his head. The pair of them crept away.

* * *

Not long afterward, warnings flashed on Robotnik's screen. Fuel lines were severed. Fire broke out in the starboard engine. Entire squadrons of robots disappeared. Robotnik mashed buttons to contain the damage, but the safety systems had been disabled. "I don't understand why this is happening! I'm losing control of the ship!"

Chaos power burst through the control room, fizzing the monitors into meaningless colors. Sonic and Robo Knux stood in the center of the room, Sonic gripping the green chaos emerald. "Sorry Doc, but Elise has a date somewhere else!"

Elise beamed and threw herself into Sonic's arms.

Robotnik grabbed at his gun, raised it and fired. Robo Knux leaped between Elise and the bullets and held up his shield-like arms. The bullets bounced off in a hailstorm of sparks. Robotnik kept firing. Robo Knux walked forward, arms overlapping, protecting his arms and torso.

Robotnik stopped firing a second, and Robo Knux whipped out his claws and carved the gun into three pieces. He threw them at Robotnik and stalked forward.

Robotnik backed up against the wall. "I thought you were restrained."

"Not when the Princess is threatened," said Robo Knux. "Guess what! This ship is going down. Elise is threatened." He scratched one claw lightly across Robotnik's stomach. "But I owe you a favor for repairing me when no one else would. For that, I'll let you live."

Robo Knux spun back to Sonic, who nodded, and all of them vanished in a sparkle of chaos energy.

* * *

The dismal, ruined future was the same when Silver and Blaze dropped out of the time portal. Silver gripped the chaos emeralds and stood still, listening. Blaze did the same, turning her head.

The world had died long ago. The emptiness echoed in Silver's chest as he looked at the barren hills, the ruined buildings, the dark sky. Cold. Lifeless. How had anyone survived so long in this blasted, barren world?

The chaos emeralds emitted a high-pitched whine that made Silver's forehead hurt. He rubbed his forelock with one wrist, and glanced down at the mark on his chest. It hadn't grown any larger. Maybe Mephiles had decided he didn't want Silver's soul after all. But then why hadn't the mark vanished?

Silver straightened and squared his shoulders. "I'm not going to kill the Iblis Trigger," he said aloud. "So there, Mephiles."

Blaze glanced at him and pulled her coat around her. "Mephiles can travel through time at will. He might be here and he might not."

"He's not getting my soul." Silver held up the chaos emeralds. "Especially once I trap Iblis inside myself."

Blaze raised an eyebrow. "And you know how to do this."

"I helped seal him into Elise," said Silver. "I'm sure I can do it. The trick is getting Iblis small enough to fit. Let's see how he's feeling today."

Silver floated himself and Blaze off the ground, and they set off toward the center of the ruins.

The caldera where Iblis usually hung out was quiet, with a black crust of cooled rock on top. Blaze pointed. "Looks like the tide just went out. I'll bet he's tired from battling Chaos."

"Perfect," said Silver through his teeth. He swooped down to the caldera's edge, set Blaze down, and tucked the chaos emeralds safely into his gloves. "Hey, Iblis! Come out and face your doom!"

The lava rippled. After a moment the black crust cracked. Iblis's green eye peered out at them.

Silver grabbed a chunk of basalt with his telekinesis and hurled it into Iblis's eye.

Iblis exploded out of the lava with a roar, towering six stories above them, four arms flailing.

"You saw his eye, right?" said Blaze.

"Sure I did," said Silver, gathering up a collapsed wall and two cars in his telekinesis field. "Hit it, too."

"Silver, he has Mephiles's eyes."

Silver shot Blaze a horrified look, but there was no time for discussion. Iblis charged forward and smashed all four fists on the ledge where Silver and Blaze stood. Blaze fled and Silver flew out of the way as the ledge crumbled into the lava. Silver fired his missiles at Iblis's head one by one. The cars tore chunks out of Iblis's lava helmet, but the chunk of wall tore it completely off.

Iblis screamed as his head lost its shape. It became a gooey mess of white-hot lava that spilled back into the caldera.

Silver grabbed hunks of collapsing pavement, rocks, metal, anything he could find, and threw them at Iblis's head. "That's for wrecking my world, demon!"

The lava glop opened in a dripping fanged mouth, and a fireball the size of the Soleanna castle rolled out. Silver held out both hands and grabbed the fireball with his telekinesis. As the fireball halted and Silver's fur singed, he laughed. He didn't know he could do that!

He flung it back into Iblis's face.

Iblis's head splattered across the caldera. The body lost its shape and plunged into the lava, and smoke boiled into the air.

Out in the caldera's center hung a black stone ball shot with red cracks. The Iblis egg.

Silver dropped to a nearby spot that had escaped lava splatter. Blaze hurried up to him, brushing off her coat. "That was amazing, Silver! I've never seen anyone fight Iblis like that!"

Silver pulled out the chaos emeralds. "Maybe my trip into the past has taught me a few things. Like how being a doormat doesn't help anybody."

Blaze grinned. "You sound like Shadow."

Silver nodded. "Maybe that's a good thing. All right, time to seal Iblis." He held out both emeralds and grabbed the egg in his telekinesis. "Chaos confine!"

The blue and white emeralds lit up and fired beams of light into Silver's chest. Flames licked out of the egg toward the emeralds.

The emeralds' whining sound increased until Silver thought it'd split his head. Why was it so hot? The Flames passed through the emeralds and struck his chest, blackening his fur. Silver flinched.

More fire blasted his chest, and the emeralds flickered. Why wasn't it going into him? "Blaze-it's not working!" Silver's arms trembled. Good grief, he was cooking himself with the Flames of Disaster! It wasn't accepting him as a host! Tears of pain poured down his face. But this was how to save the world, to seal Iblis-

Blaze yanked the chaos emeralds out of his hands. The heat and noise vanished, and Silver collapsed to hands and knees, gasping. "Something's wrong, I don't know why it didn't work-"

"I'll take Iblis" said Blaze. She held up the emeralds and the light poured into her chest. "I'm already on fire inside."

Silver stared as the fire passed smoothly down the beams into Blaze without harming her. Of course! Blaze practically had Iblis's powers already!

Out in the lava, the egg turned gray and crumbled, its fire extinguished. The lava in the caldera cooled to black, and a breeze ruffled Silver's burned spines.

The emeralds dropped from Blaze's hands. She stood still, eyes closed, and her body shimmered with orange light beneath her purple coat.

Silver struggled to his feet. "Blaze, what's happening?"

"I-can't-" She opened her eyes, and they burned green, like Iblis's eyes. Like Mephiles's. "I can see into other worlds!" Her glowing eyes swept past Silver, seeing things he could not. "Silver, use your chaos powers to seal me into one of those worlds!"

Silver's eyes widened in horror. "No! I can't!"

Blaze's eyes fixed on Silver's face, torment seething inside them. "Please, Silver, do it quickly."

Silver looked around wildly, and ran a hand through his scorched forelock. "But-Blaze! I need you! You're my friend! Who else will I talk to? You help me think!"

Despite her agony, Blaze smiled. "You're so naive, Silver. But I've always liked that about you."

Silver grabbed the chaos emeralds and held them up. "Chaos ..." but the words died in his mouth. He couldn't do that to Blaze. Taking her off to some other dimension and leaving her? He might as well shoot a rock through her brain and kill her now. His arms drooped to his sides and his shoulders slumped. "I can't."

Blaze shook her head. "Then I'll do it." She flung out her arms, and fire blasted off her. Chaos energy rippled over Silver's body and throbbed in his head. "I see a world with no people," said Blaze. "I'll take Iblis there and release him. I can't keep his power, it's killing me." Her body turned transparent and yellow sparks dripped off her.

"Blaze! No!" cried Silver, tears filling his eyes. "You'll die!"

She mustered a smile as she floated up off the ground. "You don't know that. Besides, you'll be fine. Don't be so needy." She turned away and melted away into nothing.

Silver made a noise that started out as Blaze's name, then became a primal scream. He fell to his knees and sobbed.

Up above, the clouds parted and the sun peeked through. Silver looked up at it, half-blinded by tears. He'd saved the world. Or Blaze had. Now the sun would shine and things would grow. Chaos would stay in the ocean and the survivors could rebuild their world.

But Blaze was gone forever. Why had he let her take the emeralds? Why hadn't he worked the command properly and taken Iblis himself? He'd let her take the beast to another world where she was probably dying horribly. This had been his quest. He'd failed.

Silver sat in the first warm sunlight his world had known in centuries, but inside him, all was darkness.

* * *

Sonic, Elise and Robo Knux reappeared on the palace lawn in a green sparkle. Sonic set Elise down, and she stood up and straightened her dress. "Sonic, thanks so much, once again!"

"I helped," said Robo Knux.

Elise patted his head. "Thank you, too, Robo Knux."

"Sonic!" Sally and Tails ran across the lawn toward them.

Sonic folded his arms. "Hey, I told you guys to run for it!"

"When have we ever run off and left you?" said Sally, laughing. She threw her arms around Sonic's neck as Sonic grabbed Tails in a headlock.

Elise watched them, eyes wide. Robo Knux said, "His family."

Elise nodded, her mouth forming a silent O. Then her eyes focused on something behind Sonic, and she pointed. "Uh oh."

Sally and Tails released Sonic, and they all turned.

Mephiles stood in the palace's shadow, his hedgehog form distorted by blue crystals protruding from his body in every direction.

"Holy crap, he got ugly," said Sonic. He stepped in front of Sally, Tails and Elise. "What do you want, Mephiles? As you can see, I'm not the Iblis Trigger after all."

"Yes you are," said Mephiles. "Let me show you." He flung one arm forward, and a beam of light flashed from the crystals composing his hand. The beam sliced through Sonic's chest and out his back, where it continued five more feet and ended in an atom-thin blade of light.

Sonic opened his mouth and gave Mephiles an outraged look, but no sound came out.

Mephiles yanked his arm back, and the blade of light vanished. Sonic looked down at his chest.

"What was that?" said Sally. "Some kind of light show?" She stepped up to Sonic and saw the paper-thin cut on his chest. "That's not much of a wound."

Sonic smiled and shook his head, then slowly toppled over. Sally caught him as he fell. Tails sprang to Sonic's other side, and they eased him to the ground.

Elise stooped over him, both hands pressed to her mouth.

Mephiles waited.

* * *

Unnoticed by anyone, Robo Knux walked quickly into the palace's shadow, circled around behind Mephiles, and charged at his back. He grabbed Mephiles's neck with one hand, and in the same motion, stabbed his diamond-tipped claws through Mephiles's back until they protruded from his chest.

Mephiles turned his head and looked at Robo Knux. Then he laughed.

Robo Knux wrenched his claws out and stabbed Mephiles again. Mephiles kept laughing.

* * *

"He's not breathing!" Sally cried. She whipped out Nicole and held the computer over Sonic's chest. "Lifesigns dropping. My gosh, that blade went straight through!"

"Sonic!" Tails cried, grabbing Sonic's hand. "Don't die!"

Sonic's eyelids fluttered closed. He fought to take a breath, but the air gurgled in his throat. He shook his head once, as if in disbelief at this pointless way to die. The air wheezed out of his mouth, and no more breaths followed it.

"Sonic!" Elise moaned, grabbing his other hand. "No, please, Sonic! You're tougher than this!" Tears rolled down her face. "You fought robots and saved me from a train wreck-you can beat this-"

Deep inside Elise, her father's voice whispered, "And don't cry, no matter what happens."

But this hedgehog had done the unthinkable. He had made her laugh. And by making her laugh, he'd weakened her emotional control enough to make her cry.

Elise threw back her head and wailed. Flames burst from her chest, her eyes, her mouth, and billowed into the sky. Sally and Tails recoiled and shielded their faces.

The flames departed from Elise and formed into a stone egg floating twenty feet in the air. Mephiles turned into black smoke in Robo Knux's claws and snaked up toward the egg.

"What is that?" said Sally, her voice choked with tears.

Elise gazed up at it. Sonic was dead. The Flames were released. Why keep it a secret any longer? "It's Solaris's egg. He eternally dies and is eternally reborn, and I could only carry him as long as he was unhatched. Now we'll all die."


	12. Chapter 12: Unbound

Tales of Soleanna

Story 12: Unbound

* * *

Mephiles caressed the egg with one crystal hand. In his other hand he held the purple chaos emerald. "The seal is broken at last. Chaos emeralds, I draw upon your power!"

The purple emerald flashed white, and on the ground beside Sonic, so did the green emerald.

* * *

Shadow snapped his bracelets back on and patted Nox, still on his shoulder.

Rouge dusted off her jumpsuit. "Mephiles seemed willing to let you blast him. Kind of weird."

"Maybe I'm just that good," said Shadow with a smirk. He reached down to pick up the orange chaos emerald, and Mephiles's discarded red emerald.

Both gems flashed blinding white. Shadow recoiled, and everyone shielded their eyes.

* * *

Silver wiped his tears away and looked down at the blue and white chaos emeralds at his feet. Both of them shimmered. Then their glow intensified until he had to look away. Was this supposed to happen?

* * *

Six chaos emeralds appeared in the sky, and were joined by the final light blue emerald. They poured their energy into Mephiles and Iblis. Black smoke melted into the fiery egg. Then the egg hatched open, and a new creature emerged, expanding in the midst of the chaos power. Blinding light swallowed all of Soleanna, and every creature in its path knew its death had arrived.

* * *

Elise opened her eyes. Sonic still lay on the grass, eyes closed, a thin line of red trickling across his chest. Sally and Tails had thrown themselves flat, each still holding one of Sonic's arms. They sat up, blinking. "What happened?" said Tails.

Tears flowed down Elise's face. Now that she had allowed herself to cry, she couldn't stop. She wiped them away and looked around. The sky had turned a dark purple with rippling lines across it, as if Soleanna now lay at the bottom of a sea of ink. High overhead burned a white light, brighter than the sun. Their shadows lay black beneath them.

"Where did you come from?" said a voice.

Silver sat on the ground a few feet away, his white fur now charred black, especially on his chest. Tears streaked his muzzle. He scrambled to his feet and wiped his eyes. "The chaos emeralds disappeared, and you guys showed up!"

"Yeah, we noticed," said Shadow. He stood a short distance away with Rouge and Omega, gazing at the sky and the light overhead.

"The Flames of Disaster have been unleashed," said Robotnik, walking up from the other direction. As everyone directed hateful glares at him, he bowed. "Yes, I possessed the light blue chaos emerald, so I was drawn here, too. You can thank Mephiles for that."

"I did my best," said Robo Knux, placing himself between Robotnik and Elise. "I stabbed him twice. He didn't care."

"You did well," said another voice. Lord Kaz stepped up on Elise's other side, gripping a pair of knives. He stared at Robotnik, too.

Rouge fanned her wings. "So what is this place? Are we dead?"

Robotnik gestured to the purple sky. "Iblis and Mephiles have re-merged to form Solaris. Right now he's destroying all timelines, past, present and future. We're in a time rift caused by his transformation, but it won't linger long."

Silver pointed at the light overhead. "So let's go defeat him. I can fly, how about you guys?"

"It's pointless," said Robotnik. "Believe me, I researched this particular contingency. Solaris is a god who exists outside of time. Defeating it here, now, will accomplish nothing. It's only a partially-manifested fragment in our reality."

"Just out of curiosity, Doctor," said Shadow, "what was your plan for surviving this?"

Robotnik jerked a thumb at Sonic's body. "All seven chaos emeralds are in this rift with us. I never thought he'd up and die. Mephiles played us all for fools."

Elise said slowly, "He made sure I adored Sonic, then killed him in front of me. So I'd-I'd cry." She covered her face with both hands. Lord Kaz knelt and wrapped an arm around her, and she turned and sobbed into his shoulder.

Robo Knux would have gnashed his teeth if he had any.

Sally sat motionless, staring at Sonic. Tails sat across from her, head bowed and ears flat, tears dripping off the end of his nose. Slowly he cupped his hands together, and a flicker of blue light appeared between them. Tails pressed the blue light against Sonic's wound and closed his eyes.

A breeze stirred the still air. Sally and Elise straightened. "Did you feel that?" said Sally.

"Yes!" said Elise, red-rimmed eyes widening. "It's like Sonic just ran by!"

Tails lifted his head. "Guys, I don't think Sonic's dead yet. My lifeforce went into him, and it doesn't go into dead things. Look, it sort of healed the cut."

Everyone straightened, ears lifted, eyes brightened. "So let's bring him back with the chaos emeralds!" said Silver. "If we get all seven together, a miracle's supposed to happen, right?"

Shadow nodded. "We just have to find them all. Who here can track emeralds?"

Omega raised a hand. So did Robotnik and Robo Knux.

"Excellent," said Shadow, smacking his robot fist into his living palm. "Let's go."

The group scattered, leaving Elise, Sally, Tails and Lord Kaz beside Sonic's body. Tails summoned another spark of lifeforce and pressed it into Sonic's chest. As he moved to summon more, Sally grabbed his wrist. "Don't. You'll kill yourself."

Tails looked up, eyes bright and slightly sunken. "It'd be worth it to bring Sonic back."

Sally leaned toward him. "I've just lost one of the dearest people in my life. Don't make me go through that again." Her lips curled in a smile. "Besides, we can't use the chaos emeralds on you."

Tails's smile trembled.

Sally squeezed one of Sonic's hands and turned to Kaz. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I saw Sonic die," said Kaz in a low voice. "I was running across the lawn when the light overtook me. Here I am. I'm so sorry about that, by the way. I thought I could have stopped it this time." He held up his knives with an apologetic look. Twin steel blades welded to a crossbar.

"Who were you going to stop?" said Elise, looking from the knives to Kaz in bewilderment.

"Mephiles," said Kaz.

"Wait," said Sally. "This time?"

The conversation was interrupted as Shadow appeared in a sparkle of light, tossed the dark blue chaos emerald on the grass, and disappeared again.

A second later Silver appeared and set the orange emerald beside Elise. He glanced at Sonic. "Any change?"

Sally nodded. "His body accepted Tails's lifeforce, so he's still holding on."

Silver nodded and vanished.

Elise tilted her face back and let Solaris's light fall on it. She closed her eyes and reached for the flame inside herself. But it was gone, and all was quiet inside her. The restless, seething power was finally gone.

Mephiles's voice echoed in her mind. "Perhaps you are mistaken about your god."

"No," Elise thought. "Oh gracious Solaris, hear my prayer. I am your faithful servant, vessel of the Flames for these last ten years. Spare the lives of the people on this world."

Mephiles's mocking laughter was her only answer.

* * *

Robo Knux flew back to the vigil around Sonic's body with the red and light blue emeralds. He landed, extinguished his jets, and dropped the emeralds beside the others already there. Then he glanced at everyone's faces, gauging their mood. Sally and Tails had stopped crying. Elise was still very pale, but she sat beside Sonic's head, one hand resting beside his ear. Kaz paced back and forth, swinging his knives in one hand.

Robo Knux's vision zoomed in on those knives. Triangle-cut titanium with two inches of diamond tip, all of it worn from repeated sharpening. Connected by a crossbar.

He lifted one hand and scanned his own claws. Triangle-cut titanium with two inches of diamond tip.

Robo Knux's superfluous systems shut down, while the rest went on full battle alert, the equivalent to complete panic in a living creature. He stalked toward Kaz, forgetting about Sonic, or the rift, or Solaris.

Kaz saw him coming and stopped, arms dropping to his sides.

"Why do you have my claws?" said Robo Knux in a low, deadly voice.

Kaz lifted the claws and turned them over. "These old things? These are mine."

"They're my claws," said Robo Knux, holding up his own pair. "And mine are about to open your torso and remove your internal organs one by one."

Kaz rolled his eyes and crooked a finger. "Come here." He knelt, putting his face at Robo Knux's eye level. Robo Knux stalked up to him, ready to kill, but at the same time, deathly afraid.

"Scan me," said Kaz.

Robo Knux swept him with a scan. "You're a human. Boring."

"No, you missed it," said Kaz. He tapped his forehead. "Scan here."

Robo Knux narrowed his focus and scanned Kaz's brain. His own ID code flashed at him. That didn't make sense. Some kind of reflection software? Robo Knux scanned again with the same results.

The implication hit him, and Robo Knux thought the ground had dropped out from under his feet. "You're me."

Kaz grinned and winked. "I thought you'd pick it up as soon as you saw me."

"Weaker signal. I'm running on a fusion core and you're on wetware." Robo Knux stared at Kaz and realized he had green eyes. "But how ...?"

Kaz jerked his head. "They've got all the emeralds. Let's go wake up Sonic."

Robo Knux trotted after Kaz, horrified and overjoyed all at once.

* * *

With so many hands working, it took only a few seconds to arrange the seven chaos emeralds in a circle around Sonic's body. Then Elise laid her hands on Sonic's chest and closed her eyes. "Mighty Solaris," she said aloud, "grant your servant this small request. Breathe Sonic's life back into him through the power of these emeralds."

Overhead, Solaris screeched, and everyone clapped their hands to their ears.

"I don't think he likes you anymore," said Robo Knux.

Sally looked at Tails. "Do you know the Master Emerald incantation?"

Tails frowned. "I know it, but I can't use chaos emeralds." He turned to Shadow. "You wanna do it?"

Shadow's eyebrows shot up. "Me? Revive him?"

"Sorry I asked." Tails looked around at everyone else. Omega was out of the question, as was Rouge and Robotnik. He looked at Silver, standing off by himself with his head down. "Hey Silver, want to try?"

Silver lifted his head, eyes shiny in the glow of the emeralds. "What should I do?"

"Just repeat after me."

Silver stepped inside the circle and knelt to place one hand on Sonic's chest. Elise took Sonic's hand, and Sally took the other. Then Silver repeated after Tails, "The servers are the seven chaos emeralds. Chaos is power enriched by the heart. The Controller is the one who unifies the Chaos. Please restore Sonic to life!"

Elise stooped to kiss Sonic's lips, but Sally pushed her out of the way. "Excuse me, I'm the one who married him." And Sally kissed Sonic.

The chaos emeralds brightened, but not to the blinding light of Solaris. Sonic's blue spines flushed turquoise, then full gold, and he opened his eyes. As Sally drew back, Sonic's lungs filled with air and his green irises turned orange.

Super Sonic leaped to his feet, and the emeralds circled around him like planets orbiting a sun. "Dude, I thought I'd be stuck in limbo forever! Thanks, guys!" He grabbed Sally and kissed her, then hugged Tails, who laughed hysterically. To Silver's surprise, Sonic grabbed him and hugged him, too. "Thanks, dude. You're not so bad after all."

Then Sonic turned to Elise. He lifted one of her hands and kissed it. "Although I appreciate your affection, Princess, I can't return it. I'm but a hedgehog. I think Kaz has the hots for you, though." Sonic winked at Robo Knux.

Robo Knux glared. Of course, Sonic had been disembodied. He'd probably eavesdropped on the whole exchange with Kaz.

Sonic turned and glared at Shadow. "You wanted me dead, didn't you?"

"I never said that," said Shadow. "There's all these girls standing around, dying to perform the rite. Why should I waste my energy?"

Sonic shook his glowing head, then turned and looked up at the burning sun that was Solaris. "So, who wants to help me kick some immortal butt?" Then he glanced around. "More to the point, who here is capable of surviving going super?"

Shadow folded his arms and smirked.

Sonic's shoulders slumped. "Really? Only you?"

"Excuse me," said Silver, edging forward. "I don't know what super is, but I can fly with my telekinesis. I can help fight Solaris."

Sonic grinned and held out a hand to Silver and Shadow. "Come on Shads, let's show the new kid his new super form."

Nox scrambled out of Shadow's quills, leaned over his shoulder and placed both paws on the line where Shadow's flesh became metal.

The three hedgehogs joined hands, and power flowed from Sonic into them like current from a battery. Half of Shadow's body flamed gold, while his metal half remained dark. Nox flared up into pure fire and sank into Shadow's body, insulating the metal half from the destructive chaos energy. His white eyes opened just above Shadow's head.

Silver's singed white fur brightened to pale yellow, and he floated up on his toes with his mouth hanging open.

Sonic released their hands and pumped a fist. "Aw yeah! Let's do this!" He shot skyward. Shadow and Silver followed him.

* * *

The light brightened as they approached, then suddenly dimmed, as if they had crossed some sort of threshold. The ground vanished, and all around was only swirling purple fragments, like being inside a colossal chaos shift that included the fragments of all of time.

In the center floated a folded, shimmering being. Sonic pointed. "It's like a butterfly in a cocoon."

"Good," said Shadow, Nox's fiery wings fanning around him. "If we kill it before it hatches, it won't be able to eat the universe."

Silver hesitated and rubbed his forehead. "Guys, we're really going to attack a god?"

"We've been attacking pieces of a god this whole time," said Shadow. "A few more times won't hurt."

"But-" Silver's hand crept to his chest, where Mephiles had touched him. "All right, let's try it."

Sonic shot away like a missile, curled into a glowing spiny ball, and smashed into Solaris. The curled being shifted, and one limb raised to protect its body.

Shadow held out both hands, and crackling balls of red chaos energy gathered over them. He flew forward and hurled them at Solaris, and Solaris's limb shattered like glass.

"Your turn, Silver," called Sonic.

Silver flew forward, unsure what to do. This thing didn't look like Iblis or Mephiles. He couldn't identify any part of its body, but it shimmered cloudy blues and grays, especially where it had been harmed. He reached out with his telekinesis, picked up a shard of its broken limb, and fired it into the midst of the curled body.

Solaris gave a windy, musical cry and uncurled. Wings a mile wide sprang from its shoulders, a thing like a bird's tail flipped out beneath it, and a pair of arm-like things unfolded from the torso.

Nox screamed. "Solaris a true phoenix! We've committed the ultimate blasphemy!"

"Oh, don't you start," said Shadow.

Sonic and Shadow attacked with more chaos bolts and spin attacks, but Silver hung back and watched. Solaris deflected their blows or avoided them with a sweep of its vast wings. Somehow it reminded him of Blaze, and he wept inside. Somehow this was all wrong, even if Iblis and Mephiles were part of it. If only he could speak to it!

Silver dove straight down, emerged from the barrier of light, and swept down to Elise. He just managed to stop before he hit the ground, and floated in front of her.

Elise sat on the ground with Sally, Kaz, Tails and Robo Knux, all huddled together and staring up. Their eyes reflected Silver's glow. "Elise," said Silver, "pray to Solaris. See if you can call him off."

"He's not listening to me," Elise said softly.

Silver held out his hands. "Then come with me and see him!" He lifted her in his telekinesis, and carried her with him straight up into the immense egg of light.

* * *

As soon as they entered the light, Elise felt Solaris's presence within her, as if she again carried the Flames of Disaster. But this time it was a complete being instead of a fragment that raged against its imprisonment. She clasped her hands together and sucked in her breath as Solaris danced and wove away from its assailants. "He's beautiful!"

Silver only nodded, and dashed tears out of his eyes with one wrist. "Looking at him makes me-makes me think of Blaze-"

That's right, Silver had been with his friend, hadn't he? The purple cat on the train. "Where is she?"

"She's dead," said Silver, and couldn't quite choke back a sob. "She took Iblis just before-this."

Elise didn't understand how this could be. She closed her eyes and followed Solaris's glow through her eyelids. "Oh mighty Solaris, hear me. I am Elise, your faithful servant-"

"I know you." The phoenix-being turned toward her, its wings flared out, and it stood still.

* * *

Sonic and Shadow glanced around and saw Silver and Elise floating at the barrier's edge. The hedgehogs shot up to them.

"Silver, are you nuts?" said Sonic. "Take her back down!"

"Shut up!" whispered Silver. "She's talking to him!"

Shadow and Sonic arranged themselves between Elise and Solaris, and waited.

* * *

"Solaris," said Elise, eyes still closed, "I've beheld you with my own eyes, and I can't bear to look upon your glory any more."

"Elise, my faithful one," said Solaris. His voice rippled through her as she was a scrap of silk in a high wind. "You carried my wrath for many years and kept it as safe as you were able. I thank you."

Elise drew a shivering breath. "Solaris, who was Mephiles?"

Solaris's light brightened, and the hedgehogs around Elise shifted uneasily. "Mephiles was a fragment of my cunning. He carried the full taint of my own corruption. He has returned to me carrying more filth than when he departed."

Elise faltered. "Your ... your corruption?" Pity and sorrow rose in her heart. So the god of light and beauty was imperfect.

"All of us tied to the chaos emeralds are corrupted, dear one. Pray you never encounter the eighth being of power."

"Holy crap," Sonic breathed nearby.

Elise held out both hands, keeping her eyes shut. "Oh mighty Solaris, why must you destroy our world?"

The light brightened, and the hedgehogs gasped. Elise opened her eyes and saw that Solaris had drawn her toward him. She now floated before him, removed from Silver's grasp. One of the immense wings folded around her like a hand. Sonic, Shadow and Silver flew back and forth just beyond the wing, arguing about whether to rescue her.

"Dear Elise," said Solaris, his voice so soft she barely heard it, "I destroy it because I cannot do otherwise. Your father shattered my Flame and I lost Iblis and Mephiles. To join them into my consciousness, I must retreat into my egg and be reborn. But this kind of rebirth means the rebirth of all of time. I'm sorry, dear one. I do it because I must."

Elise gazed up into the shimmering expanse of Solaris, searching in vain for a face. There was only a burning red heart in its center, all that remained of the Flames.

Sonic appeared at Elise's side and grasped her hand. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," said Elise. She recounted Solaris's words about his devastating rebirth.

Sonic glanced up at Solaris, then quickly fixed his eyes on Elise, as if he couldn't handle the proximity to an immortal. "At least he's willing to talk. That's more than monsters usually do. Will he talk to me?"

"Yes," said Solaris. "A rebel you have always been, Sonic Hedgehog, but I see your plan."

Sonic turned and planted his hands on his hips, a haughty living flame facing the blossoming shades of eternity. "What plan? I just wanted to ask if we could go back in time and keep 'em from splintering you."

"Yes."

Sonic turned to Elise. "That was easy." He turned back to Solaris. "Will that keep you from having to be reborn and stuff?"

"Yes. Until the thought formed in your mind, that possible timeline had not existed."

Sonic grinned. "Dude, I just changed time!"

Solaris's voice flowed over Sonic and Elise. "Every choice alters time. I am the caretaker of those probabilities. Send your friends out of my sphere, and come to me. I'll send you to the moment when you must act."

Sonic whisked to Silver and Shadow. "Guys, you can go back to the ground. Solaris says it's cool. He's gonna help us fix everything."

Shadow nodded and flew away, but Silver floated nearby. "Um. Before you go, could I ask Solaris something?"

"Sure, come over here, he's pretty reasonable."

Silver drifted across Solaris's curled wing, hands clasped and eyes fixed firmly on them. Without looking up, he said, "Are you going to take my soul?"

Regret stabbed through Elise like a lance, and it took her a second to realize it was Solaris's pain. She caught her breath and looked from Silver to Solaris.

Solaris's color deepened to lilac. "Mephiles laid the claim, but you did not slay Sonic Hedgehog, which would have forfeited your soul to him. In the end, he did it himself. You are freed that particular curse."

Silver looked up, eyes brimming. "What about Blaze?"

Solaris didn't answer for a long moment. Finally he said, "She lives."

Silver nodded and covered his eyes with one hand. "Th-thanks. I'll go now." He flew away.

Solaris shifted, as if watching him go. "There goes a lost child of time. Please, Sonic and Elise, do your deed before anyone else is harmed so deeply."

Elise took Sonic's hand. Solaris lifted his wing around them, and pressed them into his glowing heart.

* * *

Sonic and Elise stepped down onto solid ground, and blinked in the sudden darkness. Elise reached out and touched Sonic's head. He no longer glowed. But something glowed nearby. She turned.

A single candle flame burned five feet off the ground, shedding almost no light in the enormous room. Elise stepped toward it and stumbled over something. Sonic caught her. "Careful. It's really cluttered in here." His feet clanked against something on the floor.

They picked their way toward the flame, bumping into unseen objects. Something about this place was horribly familiar to Elise. Why did it fill her with such dread?

"Is that the flame, then?" said Sonic.

"Yes, the Flame of Hope," said Elise. "My father inherited it from the Mobian ruler of the previous dynasty. My father wished to harness its power and create time travel."

Something clicked in the distance, and the lights turned on. Sonic and Elise froze. They stood in a wide circular room with a metal and glass pillar rising in the center. Computer consoles ringed it at intervals, and thick power cables criss-crossed the floor. No wonder they'd been tripping over everything.

"This is my father's lab in Kingdom Valley," whispered Elise, pressing a hand to her mouth. "Before the accident."

A door creaked open, and a heavyset man in a lab coat entered the lab with a clipboard. He walked in, saw them and froze. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"

"Father?" said Elise, both hands pressed to her mouth.

The king squinted at her, then his eyes widened. "No. It's not possible. We haven't even done the experiment yet!"

"Dude, you're done with that," said Sonic, stepping forward. "We're here to blow the flame out."

The king's dumbfounded expression changed to a snarl. "No you're not!"

Elise stepped up to the machine, opened its door, and pulled out the tiny lamp with the flame dancing above it.

The king hurried toward her. "No! Put that back!" Sonic barred his way, spines bristling, and the king stopped.

"Father," said Elise, holding the lamp in both hands, "Solaris himself sent us back in time to do this. It's the only way to save all of time."

The king reached into his pocket and pulled out a snub-nosed pistol. He trained it on Sonic. "Put the Flame back, or I shoot the hedgehog."

Elise's fingers tightened on the lamp, lips parted. "Father, you wouldn't!"

The king clicked off the safety. "You look like Elise, girl, but you might be an imposter. Who sent you? The western colonies?"

"She just told you, Solaris sent us!" said Sonic, backing toward Elise.

The king nodded, teeth bared. "And Perfect Chaos is coming to the palace for tea. I knew they'd been trying to access my research, but I had no idea they'd go to such lengths. I won't tell you again. Put the Flame back in the machine."

Elise quivered. She'd never disobeyed her father like this. But her father had never pointed a gun at her, either. "Father, maybe time travel's not a good thing. Maybe you shouldn't bring Mother back."

Sonic's spines scratched Elise's leg, and he stood with his arms out to protect her. "You know," he said over his shoulder, "I can dodge bullets, but not point-blank."

"Good to know," said the king. "My wife is none of your business, girl." His eyes flamed like Iblis's flame at the height of his rage.

Elise sucked in the sort of gasp preceding a scream. No wonder the fragments her father had broken loose had been Wrath and Corrupt Cunning-the same traits himself manifested.

The king pulled the trigger. The gunshot cracked impossibly loud in the stone-walled room. Sonic jerked.

Elise released her breath in a puff that extinguished the Flame.


	13. Chapter 13: Epilogue

Tales of Soleanna

by K.M. Carroll

Epilogue

* * *

As Silver flew out of Solaris's egg of light, the world flickered past in a long, unraveling ribbon of color. Was he flying upside down? Where had the ground gone?

Silver tumbled end over end as the universe swept out from under him. He grasped at its trailing edges. He must not fall out of the world! But it was like trying to grasp flowing water. Black oblivion awaited him beyond the draining world. Silver couldn't avoid it. He curled into a ball and covered his eyes.

Warmth buffeted his body, and something soft brushed against him. Feathers? Silver opened one eye and saw Solaris's wing curved around him.

Then Silver sat on the dock outside of Soleanna, and watched the sailboats in the harbor. He looked around wildly. He'd fallen out of the universe, and now he was back on the docks? What about his time, where Iblis had been defeated?

Wait ...

Silver pressed his hands to his forehead. The memory of the ruined city, the caves, his underground village, all faded to nothing. Iblis. He must not forget Iblis. And Blaze.

He focused on Blaze's face, the memory of her disappearing as she floated up into the sky. The gut-wrenching guilt Silver still carried. Somehow, someday, he had to find her and bring her back.

Bring her back from what?

Silver clenched his fists. No! He wouldn't forget Blaze! She'd sealed herself into another world. Because ... because of something he'd done. He clung to his guilt. He had to remember her, or he'd never be able to find her.

Silver stood up and paced up and down the docks. What time had he been dropped in? He picked up a newspaper and glanced at the date. May twentieth. But what date had it been last time? Silver shook his head. Why should there be another date? There was something he was forgetting. He clutched the newspaper and looked at the photos of black and red aliens. Should he remember this? It reminded him of something. Like a monster made of fire.

He had to find Blaze before he forgot everything. But how to reach another world? Maybe with the chaos emeralds. They could do everything else, after all. Where were the chaos emeralds, anyway?

Silver glanced out at the horizon and spotted a dark shape up in the sky. Was that a floating island? He shaded his eyes with one hand. It sure was. Maybe there were chaos emeralds there. Maybe he'd find someone there. Someone who he'd wronged somehow. What was her name? Blaze, that was it.

Silver levitated himself and shot into the air, toward the floating island in the distance.

* * *

Blaze the cat lay on the grass, head pillowed on her arms, flames still flickering from her fingertips. Seven rectangular glowing stones lay around her in a ring, each shimmering a different color.

Slowly she opened her eyes and lifted her head. She pushed herself to a sitting position, and gathered the gems together in a pile. She shook her hands to extinguish the flames at last, and gazed across rolling hills to the setting sun. "They must never leave my sight," she murmured aloud.

Footsteps approached from behind her, and she turned, crouching over the gems and baring her teeth. Two cats stopped fifteen feet away, both wearing red robes and carrying metal rods tipped with red glowing spheres. One stepped forward and raised a hand, palm outward. "We come in peace! Calm down."

Blaze did not relax her stance or her snarl. "Who are you?"

The lead cat bowed slightly. "I am Errin, Prince of Mobanus, and this is my realm." He gestured to the horizon with his rod. "This is my valet, Feln."

Blaze's mind raced. This world was inhabited after all. She'd better come up with a fancy title, fast, or someone would take these gems. She scooped them up, stood and bowed as regally as she could. "I am Blaze, Guardian of the ..." She glanced at the gems, and Iblis's chained fire rippled inside them. "...the Sol emeralds."

Prince Errin bowed again. "It grows dark, and it's not safe on these moors for wayfarers. Would you accept our hospitality for you and your charges?"

Blaze considered a moment. She had no food, no shelter, knew nothing about this world, and exhaustion weighed heavy on her limbs. Finally she nodded. "All right, then. But I must guard the Sol emeralds with my life. They're too dangerous in the wrong hands."

"Trust me, Guardian Blaze," said Errin, "we will help you protect them with every guard in our royal kingdom."

* * *

Sonic put his feet on the railing and leaned back in his chair beside Sally. Fireworks exploded overhead in globes of gold, green and violet. "Ah yeah, this is great."

"Look at the size of that torch they're lighting!" said Tails, leaning over the railing with Sally's binoculars. "Here comes the Princess!"

"Where?" Sonic sat up and grabbed the binoculars. The Princess walked along the floating platform toward the waiting braziers, waving left and right. Robo Knux stalked in her wake, adoring eyes fixed on the Princess.

"Now that's hilarious, Robo Knux for a bodyguard," said Sonic. He straightened and stared at nothing. "Wait a minute."

Tails grabbed the binoculars out of Sonic's drooping hand, but Sonic didn't notice. Robo Knux as Elise's bodyguard. Hadn't Sonic left them all huddled together on the ground in some sort of dark purple world, while he flew up into the sun?

Other memories floated by like feathers on the wind. Running down a train. A white hedgehog with a shock of spines on his forehead. A ruined city lit from beneath by flickering flames. But try as he might, Sonic couldn't connect them together. They hung in his mind, a series of disjointed images with nothing linking them.

"Sonic?" said Sally, touching his arm. "Are you okay?"

Sonic touched his chest. Two faded scars lingered there, one like a knife cut, and the other round like a bullet hole. Seemed like they should hurt a lot more.

Slowly Sonic sat down again. "I'm fine, Sal. I think."

* * *

After the ceremony, late that night, Robo Knux saw Elise to her chambers, then went hunting for Lord Kaz.

Kaz sat at a table in the dining room, wearing a maroon velvet dressing gown and reading a newspaper. He looked up and nodded as Robo Knux approached.

Robo Knux walked up and stood beside Kaz's chair. Through the wireless network used by all mecha-bots, he said, "So, do you remember anything?"

"I remember that you finally figured out who I am," said Kaz through the network. "Or rather, who we are."

"It's a good thing I keep memory backups," said Robo Knux. "I'm probably the only one of you living sissies who has the full record. Elise doesn't have a thing for Sonic anymore, so you have a shot at her."

"I have the full record, too," said Kaz, grinning.

Robo Knux examined his claws. "So, tell me. How do I wind up in a human body?"

Kaz pushed back his hair and revealed a thin scar at his hairline. "Brain transplant."

"Of course," Robo Knux muttered. "That bypasses Mecha's entire organic evolution! I'll bet he hates you. Did you come back in time?"

"Of course," said Kaz. "I wasn't letting Elise slip away from me so easily. Remember the name Richmond Kaz."

"Ha, I get it," said Robo Knux. "Can you still kill people?"

"I suppose I could," said Kaz. "But psychotic killers wind up in prison, if they're lucky. They don't get hot chicks. You'll have to learn to control yourself."

"Yeah, yeah," said Robo Knux. "I suppose you can't tell me how far in the future this happens?"

"Nope," said Kaz. "Be her bodyguard. Learn manners. The restraining shell will let up once you're trained."

"You're kidding," said Robo Knux. "It's not forever?"

"Heck no. Eventually it'll just go away and you won't even realize it's gone."

Robo Knux poked the shell. It resisted. Man, he had a long way to go. "I guess I'd better get back to guard duty."

Kaz winked. "See you around."

The End


End file.
